More on Piketty
==> Here’s Piketty responding to the initial FT critique. (HT2 Daniel Kuehn)
==> Here’s Giles (the author of the FT critique) elaborating.
==> Here’s Magness with some more oddities, but I think Piketty might have explained what was going on here, in the first piece linked above. (Note, to say he “explained what was going on” doesn’t necessarily mean it makes sense. I’m just saying, I think on a lot of these cases now, Piketty at least has given an official reply as to why he made what seem to outsiders to be arbitrary moves.)
(BTW a long time ago I should’ve invented a new tag “Piketty” for these blog posts, but I initially was filing it under “Capital & Interest” because that’s what interested me about it. Anyway, I’m not going to bother now.)
Spare a thought for Howard Reed, who wrote a good response to Chris Giles, only to have Piketty’s own response corner the market within hours:
http://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2014/may/29/piketty-chris-giles-and-wealth-inequality-its-all-about-the-discontinuities
OK I’ll check it out.
I thought Nate Silver’s analysis is pertinent and offers a valuable warning to both those who gather and analyze data:
http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/be-skeptical-of-both-piketty-and-his-skeptics/
I love the part where he says that he wants at least a small tax, just so they have some valid statistics. I know that I certainly trust the government to use that tiny piece of information to make life better for all humanity.
BTW a long time ago I should’ve invented a new tag “Piketty” for these blog posts
consultingbyrpm blog tag piketty
I’m helping!
😀
Amusing exchange on Twitter:
Branko Milanovic : An economists’ dinner in Washington. The world has become divided into Pikettistas (85%) and anti-Pikettistas (15%).
Justin Wolfers: Branko’s data match mine, although even the Pikettistas say “It’s great, but…” There’s always at least a quibble
Clive Crook: Like Larry Summers’ take, I imagine: It’s great but wrong.
Branko Milanovic : Ricardo was great but wrong..So was Malthus. So was Marx. You have to be wrong to be great in economics.
Clive Crook: Well I grant you it doesn’t mean automatic disqualification.
And people wander why economists are considered frauds by the general public.
Well, the Austrians aren’t “great”, but at least they are right.