Top incomes in France in the twentieth century : inequality and redistribution, 1901-1998 / Thomas Piketty ; translated by Seth Ackerman.

"First published as Les hauts revenus en France au XXe siecle: inegalites et redistributions, 1901-1998. (c) 2001 Editions Grasset et Fasquelle; 2014 for the present edition."

Includes bibliographical references (pages 1023-1220) and indexes.

Introduction: Why study top incomes? -- Part One. The evolution of unequal incomes in france in the twentieth century: A five-fold increase in "average" purchasing power in the twentieth century -- The evolution of the level and composition of top incomes in France in the twentieth century -- Wage inequality in France in the twentieth century -- Part Two. Top incomes and redistribution in France in the twentieth century: Income-tax legislation from 1914 to 1998 -- Who paid what? -- Part Three. France and the Kuznets curve -- Was the "end of the rentiers" a tax illusion? -- How does France compare with foreign experiences? -- Conclusion: Top incomes in France at the dawn of the twenty-first century.

A landmark in contemporary social science, this pioneering work by Thomas Piketty explains the facts and dynamics of income inequality in France in the twentieth century. On its publication in French in 2001, it helped launch the international program led by Piketty and others to explore the grand patterns and causes of global inequality--research that has since transformed public debate. Appearing here in English for the first time, this stunning achievement will take its place alongside Capital in the Twenty-First Century as a modern classic of economic analysis. Top Incomes in France in the Twentieth Century is essential in part because of Piketty's unprecedented efforts to uncover, untangle, and present in clear form data about patterns in tax and inheritance in France dating back to 1900. But it is also an exceptional work of analysis, tracking and explaining with Piketty's characteristically lucid prose the effects of political conflict, war, and social change on the economic pressures and public policies that determined the lives of millions. A work of unusual intellectual power and ambition, Top Incomes in France in the Twentieth Century is vital reading for anyone concerned with the economic, political, and social history of France, and it is central to ongoing debates about social justice, inequality, taxation, and the evolution of capitalism around the world.-- Provided by publisher