Thomas Piketty’s Circle and the School of Inequality

Benoît Walraevens () and Matthieu Pourieux ()
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Benoît Walraevens: CREM - Centre de recherche en économie et management - UNICAEN - Université de Caen Normandie - NU - Normandie Université - UR - Université de Rennes - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
Matthieu Pourieux: CREM - Centre de recherche en économie et management - UNICAEN - Université de Caen Normandie - NU - Normandie Université - UR - Université de Rennes - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique

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Abstract: This paper analyzes the emergence of a new school of economic thought, termed the "inequality school", which has successfully placed the distributional issue back at the heart of economic analysis and public debate. Led by Thomas Piketty, the school is a collective movement founded on the emerging international research network on inequality working at or collaborating with the World Inequality Lab (WIL). We present first the origins and foundations of this school as well as its members by distinguishing, through a bibliometric analysis, an "inner circle", the originators and leaders of the school, made up of Piketty, Saez, Alvaredo, Zucman and Chancel, and a "wider circle", made up of the collaborators and contributors of the ever-growing international network of the WIL. Then we identify its characteristics in terms of topic, methodology, values, and policy proposals, and highlight its contributions to economic science. Finally, we present the view of economics that members of the school share as a social, political, historical, and moral science and its democratic role.

Keywords: Inequality School of Thought Thomas Piketty World Inequality Lab Taxation JEL classifications: B2 B30 H2; Inequality; School of Thought; Thomas Piketty; World Inequality Lab (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026-01-19
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