Piketty à Pékin. Les lois du Capital au XXI e siècle à l’épreuve de la Chine

In this article, we propose a method to build a stock of global capital à la Piketty for China on a long period from 1952 to 2012 (part 1). The elasticities associated to such a capital are econometrically estimed though specifications integrating, along with it, human capital, research-and-development and a variable of institutional change, within the framework of modern macrodynamic neo-classical models ? a framework which is that of this author, even if not exlusively. On this basis, we calculate a rate of implicit rentability of this global capital in order to test the validity of what Piketty presents as a ?fundamental unbalance?, comparing in the long term the rate of return of capital and the growth rate of income. Piketty?s ?economic law?, linking the coefficient of capital to the ratio savings rate - growth rate, is then examined (part 2). The results previously obtanined are confronted to new estimations on the subperiod 1978-2012, corresponding to what many authors call a ?capitalism à la Chinese? (part 3). Finally, we briefly discuss the issue of inequality in China.