Thomas Piketty has delivered a rebuttal to the FT’s claim he improperly manipulated data and drew wrong conclusions about the concentration of wealth in Capital in the 21st Century.
In a technical appendix posted on his website on 28 May, Piketty says:
- The data is sufficient to conclude that the concentration of wealth has been increasing in recent decades.
- The FT’s technical criticisms about country sources, averaging and the starting point for the analysis are misplaced.
- There were no transcription errors.
“I did not find the FT criticism particularly constructive,” Piketty says. “The FT suggests that I made mistakes and errors in my computations, which is simply wrong…” He also says the FT ignored a supporting study which indicates a higher rise in top wealth shares in the US in recent decades than is expressed in his book.
To see the statement in full, go to http://piketty.pse.ens.fr/files/capital21c/Piketty2013AnnexeTechnique.pdf