Paul L. Caron

Document Type

Response or Comment

Publication Title

Emory L. J. Online

Abstract

Since publication of an English edition in March 2014, Capital in the Twenty-First Century has spawned heated debates in newspapers, magazines, and blogs, which soon will continue in academic journals and law reviews. Shi-Ling Hsu is one of the first out of the gate with The Rise and Rise of the One Percent: Considering Legal Causes of Wealth Inequality. Hsu's essay is a significant contribution to what is certain to be an energetic debate over the implications of Piketty's work. I offer here two modest reactions to Hsu's essay: (1) recent inequality research has shifted the focus of high-end wealth concentration from the Top 1% to the Top 0.1% (and even the Top 0.01%), with important implications for the work of both Piketty and Hsu, including (2) the inquiry into whether policymakers should intervene before the fact to reshape the distribution of the benefits and burdens of economic activity (Hsu's approach) or instead redistribute wealth after the fact (Piketty's approach).

First Page

2073

Publication Date

2015

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