Contrary to a tenacious myth, France is not owned by California pension funds or the Bank of China, any more than the United States belongs to Japanese and German investors. The fear of getting into such a predicament is so strong today that fantasy often outstrips reality. The reality is that inequality with respect to capital is a far greater domestic issue than it is an international one.
Thomas PikettyThe discipline of economics has yet to get over its childish passion for mathematics and for purely theoretical and often highly ideological speculation, at the expense of historical research and collaboration with the other social sciences.
Thomas PikettyI am not political. It is not my job. But I would be happy if politicians could read my work and draw some conclusions from it.
Thomas PikettyIt's important to realize that innovation and growth in itself are not sufficient to moderate inequality of wealth.
Thomas PikettyI certainly agree that capital is not a one-dimensional object, and that the return on capital takes very different forms for different assets or different people.
Thomas Piketty