Description: An international team of leading economic historians provide an overview of global developments in the theory and reality of inequality in the light of the work of Thomas Piketty.
Brief description: Pat Hudson is Emeritus Professor of Economic History at Cardiff University. Her books include The Industrial Revolution (1992) and History by Numbers: An Introduction to Quantitative Approaches (second edition 2016). Recently, she coedited (with Francesco Boldizzoni) The Routledge Handbook of Global Economic History (2016).
Review Quotes: This excellent volume effectively exploits and builds on 'the Piketty opportunity' the contested new terrain created by Thomas Piketty's challenge to mainstream economics and economic history. With their deep knowledge of the history of the study of inequality in various regions of the world and in the discipline of economics, the contributors engage critically with Piketty's Capital in the Twenty-First Century to provide a plethora of new insights and important alternative policy proposals. This volume demonstrates why public policy-makers need to pay full attention to historians in grappling with the political trilemma of our age posed by Piketty: democracy, capitalism and inequality.--Simon Szreter, University of Cambridge