This paper studies the origin of Piketty's inequality between the profit rate (r) and the growth rate of the national income (g) by focusing on the growth rate (gamma) of the r⁄g ratio in an economy that grows gradually along a succession of production cycles. It is shown that, given a...

This work rehearses the main themes of Piketty's book and summarizes the debate it triggered. The paper dwells on the rise in the ratio of household wealth to GDP in the rich countries since the 1980s and the role played by the build-up of saving and variations in house and financial asset...