Lucas Chancel

about

I am an economist specialized in inequality and in environmental policy. My work focuses on the measurement of economic inequality, its interactions with sustainable development and on the implementation of social and ecological policies.

I am a tenured Associate Professor at Sciences Po where I’m affiliated with the Center for Research on Social Inequalities and the Department of Economics. I am also Co-Director of the World Inequality Lab at the Paris School of Economics and Senior advisor at the European Tax Observatory. In 2023-2024, I am a Visiting scholar at the Harvard Kennedy School.

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Books

[New] Climate Inequality Report 2023

Lucas Chancel, Philipp. Bothe, Tancrèe Voituriez. Climate Inequality Report 2023. World Inequality Lab.

Download the report.

Synthesis of recent studies on global climate inequalities and proposal to finance climate investments in the global South. Report written b Key findings covered by the Financial Times, the Guardian, Time, Le Monde, El Pais…

World Inequality Report 2022

L. Chancel, T. Piketty, E. Saez, G. Zucman, Harvard University Press, 2022

The World Inequality Report 2022 provides the most up-to-date data on global income and wealth inequalities and presents new findings on global gender and climate change inequalities.

“Read this report, shout out its messages, find ways to act upon them.” Esther Duflo and Abhijit Banerjee

Published in English by Harvard University Press, in French by Le Seuil. Available open access online.

More information [Release on 7 December 2021]

Unsustainable inequalities: social justice and the environment

L. Chancel, Harvard University Press, 2020

Selection of best books in economics – Financial Times

Selection of best science books – Nature magazine

“Essential” – Science magazine

“An original perspective on the two greatest challenges of our times” – Martin Wolf, Financial Times

“An absolute must read” – Thomas Piketty

More info

Research / Publications

[New] Income Inequality in Africa: Measurements, Patterns, Determinants

Chancel, L., Cogneau, D., Gethin, A., Myckowski, A. Robilliard, A.-S. (2023), World Development, 163, 23p.

[New] Global Carbon Inequality over 1990-2019

Chancel, L. (2022), Nature sustainability, 5, pp. 931–938

[New] Why is Europe More Equal than the US?

Blanchet, T., Chancel, L., Gethin, A. (2022) American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, vol. 14(4), pp. 480-518.

Global Income Inequality, 1820-2020: The Persistence and Mutation of Extreme Inequality

Chancel, L., Piketty, T. (2021) Journal of the European Economic Association, 19, pp. 3025–3062

Ten facts about inequality in advanced economies

Chancel, L. (2021) in 'Combating Inequality: Rethinking Government's Role', MIT Press (eds. O. Blanchard, D. Rodrik)

Indian Income Inequality, 1922-2015: from British Raj to Billionaire Raj?

Chancel, L., Piketty, T. (2019) Review of Income and Wealth, 2019, 65, pp. S33-62

Conferences

29/11/2022 - European Commission JRC

Joint Research Center European Commission

DIGCLASS conference on inequalities and climate change at the European Commission Joint Research Center.

31/01/2023 - Norad Oslo

Keynote at the Norad annual conference

Presentation of the Climate Inequality Report 2023 and discussion at the Norad Annual Conference “Human & Nature”.

Watch the keynote replay as well as the discussion. Link to conference website.

The Norad is the Norwegian Development Agency.

Inequality and macroeconomic policy, conference at Harvard University

GEM conference organized by the Center for International Development and the Malcom Wiener Center for Social Policy at Harvard University. More information.

Medias

Interview by the Time on climate finance

Interviewed by Time magazine on climate finance. Read the article.

Article in The Guardian on climate inequalities

Article on the Climate Inequality Report 2023. Read the article.

Financial Times article on climate inequalities

Coverage of the “Climate Inequality Report 2023” in the Financial Times. Read the article.