Laudato Si
People have been asking me about Thomas Pikkety’s new book. No, I likely will not read it – too much other reading to do that doesn’t involve lofty ideas of global technocracy. But I have watched two of his speeches, and read probably 20 analyses of his book. Here are a few.
And here is the most gaping hole in his theory.
Edit: Another.
Edit #2: Another.
Edit #3: Rogoff chimes in:
However, Piketty and Saez do not really offer a model; nor does this new book. And the lack of a model, combined with a focus on the world’s upper-middle-class countries, matters a lot when it comes to policy prescriptions. Would Piketty’s followers be nearly as enthusiastic about his proposed progressive global wealth tax if it were aimed at correcting the huge disparities between the richest countries and the poorest, instead of between those who are well off by global standards and the ultra-wealthy?
Read the whole thing.
Edit #4: Bob Murphy is dismantling Piketty piece by piece, but notes that his data is erroneous at the most fundamental level: collection. Just shameful. And this, ladies and gents, is why I don’t think I have the time to waste on the book…