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Professor Piketty, whose best-selling 2013 book Capital in the Twenty-First Century is credited with redefining the post-crash global economic debate, will join the LSE¡¯s new International Inequalities Institute.

The academic ¨C who has been described as a ¡°rock star economist¡± by the Financial Times given his global fame and influence ¨C will teach postgraduate students and work with them on research on a part-time basis, the LSE said.

The 44-year-old French economist, who was a PhD student at the LSE, has frequently highlighted economic inequality in his work.

He has called for a global wealth tax on the assets of the super-rich, arguing that too much wealth is concentrated among those at the top of society.

Professor Piketty, who is a professor at the Paris School of Economics and the ?cole des Hautes ?tudes en Sciences Sociales, said that his appointment at the LSE¡¯s new institute was a ¡°unique opportunity¡­to create a truly dynamic and exciting inter-disciplinary centre which will make a real difference to our understanding of the causes and consequences of inequality¡±.

Mike Savage, professor of sociology and co-director of the LSE¡¯s International Inequalities Institute, said Professor Piketty had ¡°revolutionised our understanding of inequality¡±.

¡°This is a fantastic opportunity to establish the International Inequalities Institute and I am thrilled to have the opportunity to work with him,¡± he said.

jack.grove@tesglobal.com?