{"id":54527,"date":"2023-12-01T18:23:05","date_gmt":"2023-12-01T17:23:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wifo.ac.at\/publication\/making-sense-of-pikettys-fundamental-laws-in-a-post-keynesian-framework-the-transitional-dynamics-of-wealth-inequality\/"},"modified":"2025-10-22T22:18:59","modified_gmt":"2025-10-22T20:18:59","slug":"making-sense-of-pikettys-fundamental-laws-in-a-post-keynesian-framework-the-transitional-dynamics-of-wealth-inequality","status":"publish","type":"publication","link":"https:\/\/www.wifo.ac.at\/en\/publication\/54527\/","title":{"rendered":"Making sense of Piketty's \"fundamental laws\" in a Post-Keynesian framework: the transitional dynamics of wealth inequality"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","class_list":["post-54527","publication","type-publication","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":{"subtitle":"","text":"If Piketty's main theoretical prediction (r &gt; g leads to rising wealth inequality) is taken to its radical conclusion, then a small elite will own all wealth if capitalism is left to its own devices. We formulate and calibrate a Post-Keynesian model with an endogenous distribution of wealth between workers and capitalists which permits such a corner solution of all wealth held by capitalists. However, it also shows interior solutions with a stable, non-zero wealth share of workers, a stable wealth-to-income ratio, and a stable and positive gap between the profit and the growth rate determined by the Cambridge equation. More importantly, simulations show that the model conforms to Piketty's empirical findings during a transitional phase of increasing wealth inequality, which characterizes the current state of high-income countries: the wealth share of capitalists rises to over 60 percent, the wealth-to-income ratio increases, and income inequality rises. Finally, we show that the introduction of a wealth tax as suggested by Piketty could neutralize this rise in wealth concentration predicted by our model.","onlinedate":"2020-04-01 02:00:00","lang":"English","publication_series":"","publication_date":"20200401","publication_date_year":"","publication_date_full":false,"publication_num_pages":"","keywords":"[]","jelcodes":"[]","related_publications":"[]","pdf":null,"zip":null,"link":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.4337\/roke.2020.02.04","monthly_report":false,"monthly_report_main":false,"monthly_report_volume":"8","monthly_report_pages":"195-219","monthly_report_pages_sort":"195","issue":"2","journal":"Review of Keynesian Economics","publisher":"","invisible":false,"external":true,"embargo_date":null,"types":[83083],"research_groups":[3500],"collaboration":"","persons":[3567,4619],"persons_data":"[{\"personId\":3567,\"personName\":\"Stefan Ederer\",\"organisationNames\":[]},{\"personId\":4619,\"personName\":\"Miriam Rehm\",\"organisationNames\":[]}]","clients":[],"subclients":[],"partners":[],"topics":[41261],"host_publication_title":"","host_publication_subtitle":"","place_of_publication":"","host_publication_editors":"[]","type_description":"","output_media":"","chapter":"","article_number":"","scientific_assistance":"[]","scientific_review":"[]","version":"","release_date":null,"expiration_date":null,"surveyor":"","research_assistance":"","edv":"","additional_info_de":"","additional_info_en":""},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.5 (Yoast SEO v26.5) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Making sense of Piketty&#039;s &quot;fundamental laws&quot; in a Post-Keynesian framework: the transitional dynamics of wealth inequality - WIFO<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wifo.ac.at\/en\/publication\/54527\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Making sense of Piketty&#039;s &quot;fundamental laws&quot; in a Post-Keynesian framework: the transitional dynamics of wealth inequality\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.wifo.ac.at\/en\/publication\/54527\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"WIFO\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/WIFOat\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-10-22T20:18:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.wifo.ac.at\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/WIFO-Gebaeude-FotoAlexanderMueller-www.alexandermueller.at-IMG_6326-Bearbeitet-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1920\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@WIFOat\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.wifo.ac.at\/en\/publication\/54527\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.wifo.ac.at\/en\/publication\/54527\/\",\"name\":\"Making sense of Piketty's \\\"fundamental laws\\\" in a Post-Keynesian framework: the transitional dynamics of wealth inequality - WIFO\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.wifo.ac.at\/en\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2023-12-01T17:23:05+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-10-22T20:18:59+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.wifo.ac.at\/en\/publication\/54527\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.wifo.ac.at\/en\/publication\/54527\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.wifo.ac.at\/en\/publication\/54527\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Startseite\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.wifo.ac.at\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Making sense of Piketty's \\\"fundamental laws\\\" in a Post-Keynesian framework: the transitional dynamics of wealth inequality\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.wifo.ac.at\/en\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.wifo.ac.at\/en\/\",\"name\":\"\u00d6sterreichisches Institut f\u00fcr Wirtschaftsforschung\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.wifo.ac.at\/en\/#organization\"},\"alternateName\":\"WIFO\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.wifo.ac.at\/en\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.wifo.ac.at\/en\/#organization\",\"name\":\"\u00d6sterreichisches Institut f\u00fcr Wirtschaftsforschung\",\"alternateName\":\"WIFO\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.wifo.ac.at\/en\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.wifo.ac.at\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.wifo.ac.at\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/WIFO_kurz_rechts-2-1920x412.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.wifo.ac.at\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/WIFO_kurz_rechts-2-1920x412.jpg\",\"width\":2000,\"height\":429,\"caption\":\"\u00d6sterreichisches Institut f\u00fcr Wirtschaftsforschung\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.wifo.ac.at\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/WIFOat\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/WIFOat\",\"https:\/\/linkedin.com\/company\/wifoat\/\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@WIFO_at\"],\"description\":\"Das WIFO, 1927 von Friedrich August von Hayek und Ludwig von Mises zur Konjunkturanalyse gegr\u00fcndet, ist heute das f\u00fchrende Institut f\u00fcr angewandte empirische Wirtschaftsforschung in \u00d6sterreich mit starkem Engagement auf europ\u00e4ischer Ebene.\",\"email\":\"office@wifo.ac.at\",\"telephone\":\"+43 1 798 26 01 \u2013 0\",\"legalName\":\"\u00d6sterreichisches Institut f\u00fcr Wirtschaftsforschung\",\"foundingDate\":\"1927-01-02\",\"numberOfEmployees\":{\"@type\":\"QuantitativeValue\",\"minValue\":\"51\",\"maxValue\":\"200\"},\"publishingPrinciples\":\"https:\/\/www.wifo.ac.at\/institut\/mission-und-strategie\/\",\"ownershipFundingInfo\":\"https:\/\/www.wifo.ac.at\/institut\/organisation\/\",\"actionableFeedbackPolicy\":\"https:\/\/www.wifo.ac.at\/aktuelles\/presse\/\",\"correctionsPolicy\":\"https:\/\/www.wifo.ac.at\/institut\/kontakt\/\",\"ethicsPolicy\":\"https:\/\/www.wifo.ac.at\/institut\/evidenzbasierung-transparenz-und-unabhaengigkeit\/\",\"diversityPolicy\":\"https:\/\/www.wifo.ac.at\/institut\/gleichstellung\/\",\"diversityStaffingReport\":\"https:\/\/www.wifo.ac.at\/institut\/gleichstellung\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Making sense of Piketty's \"fundamental laws\" in a Post-Keynesian framework: the transitional dynamics of wealth inequality - WIFO","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.wifo.ac.at\/en\/publication\/54527\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Making sense of Piketty's \"fundamental laws\" in a Post-Keynesian framework: the transitional dynamics of wealth inequality","og_url":"https:\/\/www.wifo.ac.at\/en\/publication\/54527\/","og_site_name":"WIFO","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/WIFOat\/","article_modified_time":"2025-10-22T20:18:59+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1920,"height":1280,"url":"https:\/\/www.wifo.ac.at\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/WIFO-Gebaeude-FotoAlexanderMueller-www.alexandermueller.at-IMG_6326-Bearbeitet-1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_site":"@WIFOat","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.wifo.ac.at\/en\/publication\/54527\/","url":"https:\/\/www.wifo.ac.at\/en\/publication\/54527\/","name":"Making sense of Piketty's \"fundamental laws\" in a Post-Keynesian framework: the transitional dynamics of wealth inequality - WIFO","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.wifo.ac.at\/en\/#website"},"datePublished":"2023-12-01T17:23:05+00:00","dateModified":"2025-10-22T20:18:59+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.wifo.ac.at\/en\/publication\/54527\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.wifo.ac.at\/en\/publication\/54527\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.wifo.ac.at\/en\/publication\/54527\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Startseite","item":"https:\/\/www.wifo.ac.at\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Making sense of Piketty's \"fundamental laws\" in a Post-Keynesian framework: the transitional dynamics of wealth inequality"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.wifo.ac.at\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.wifo.ac.at\/en\/","name":"\u00d6sterreichisches Institut f\u00fcr Wirtschaftsforschung","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.wifo.ac.at\/en\/#organization"},"alternateName":"WIFO","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.wifo.ac.at\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.wifo.ac.at\/en\/#organization","name":"\u00d6sterreichisches Institut f\u00fcr Wirtschaftsforschung","alternateName":"WIFO","url":"https:\/\/www.wifo.ac.at\/en\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.wifo.ac.at\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.wifo.ac.at\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/WIFO_kurz_rechts-2-1920x412.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.wifo.ac.at\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/WIFO_kurz_rechts-2-1920x412.jpg","width":2000,"height":429,"caption":"\u00d6sterreichisches Institut f\u00fcr Wirtschaftsforschung"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.wifo.ac.at\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/WIFOat\/","https:\/\/x.com\/WIFOat","https:\/\/linkedin.com\/company\/wifoat\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@WIFO_at"],"description":"Das WIFO, 1927 von Friedrich August von Hayek und Ludwig von Mises zur Konjunkturanalyse gegr\u00fcndet, ist heute das f\u00fchrende Institut f\u00fcr angewandte empirische Wirtschaftsforschung in \u00d6sterreich mit starkem Engagement auf europ\u00e4ischer Ebene.","email":"office@wifo.ac.at","telephone":"+43 1 798 26 01 \u2013 0","legalName":"\u00d6sterreichisches Institut f\u00fcr Wirtschaftsforschung","foundingDate":"1927-01-02","numberOfEmployees":{"@type":"QuantitativeValue","minValue":"51","maxValue":"200"},"publishingPrinciples":"https:\/\/www.wifo.ac.at\/institut\/mission-und-strategie\/","ownershipFundingInfo":"https:\/\/www.wifo.ac.at\/institut\/organisation\/","actionableFeedbackPolicy":"https:\/\/www.wifo.ac.at\/aktuelles\/presse\/","correctionsPolicy":"https:\/\/www.wifo.ac.at\/institut\/kontakt\/","ethicsPolicy":"https:\/\/www.wifo.ac.at\/institut\/evidenzbasierung-transparenz-und-unabhaengigkeit\/","diversityPolicy":"https:\/\/www.wifo.ac.at\/institut\/gleichstellung\/","diversityStaffingReport":"https:\/\/www.wifo.ac.at\/institut\/gleichstellung\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wifo.ac.at\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/publication\/54527","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wifo.ac.at\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/publication"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wifo.ac.at\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/publication"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.wifo.ac.at\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/publication\/54527\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":433097,"href":"https:\/\/www.wifo.ac.at\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/publication\/54527\/revisions\/433097"}],"acf:post":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wifo.ac.at\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/topic\/41261"},{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wifo.ac.at\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/person\/4619"},{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wifo.ac.at\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/person\/3567"},{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wifo.ac.at\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/research_group\/3500"},{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wifo.ac.at\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/publication_type\/83083"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wifo.ac.at\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54527"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}