IN HIS improbable blockbuster, “Capital in the Twenty-First Century”, the French economist Thomas Piketty argues that inequality is rising inexorably across the West. Recent British history hints at a wrinkle in that smooth picture. Figures released by the Office for National Statistics suggest that, adjusting for inflation, the middle of Britain’s wealth distribution was squeezed by the recession that followed the financial crisis. But both the rich and the poor came through with roughly the same level of assets that they had before the crisis (see chart). The poor had little wealth to start with, of course, and it was mostly in possessions such as cars and sofas, which are hardly susceptible to financial chaos. Housing wealth, which is fairly widely spread among the rich and middle classes, was hit harder. Real house prices fell by 12% between 2007 and 2011, though they are now surging again.

Yet that decline was offset by other things. Private pensions form a larger part of the wealth of fairly well-off people. The notional value of defined-benefit pensions rose as interest rates fell: a larger pot of assets is needed to generate the same pension income. And the financial assets of the richest 10% of the population shot up. Part of that is due to rising stockmarkets (particularly in sterling terms). The migration of foreign oligarchs to London may have helped drive the increase, too.

But inequality may rise again. Unless house-building accelerates, property prices will continue to rise, particularly in the south-east, entrenching the wealth of prosperous homeowners. Then Mr Piketty will be right after all.