Edible Economics: A Hungry Economist Explains the World

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Economic thinking - about globalisation, climate change, immigration, austerity, automation and much more - in its most digestible form

This was a weird and wonderful little book! I honestly never thought I would enjoy a book on economics, but I found myself fascinated the whole way through. Ha-Joon Chang offers some unique perspectives on various economic theories, often presenting multiple differing opinions in the same chapter. He weaves together these theories and practices with tangible historical examples, all the while tying each one at least metaphorically to a food — such as the idea of chillies being representative of invisible labor or strawberries relating directly to the development of automation of the workforce. A lot of countries are being more honest and admitting that the government has always played an important role in industrial development, so they’re now thinking they might as well do it in a more systematic way.The only book I've ever read that made me laugh, salivate and re-evaluate my thoughts about economics – all at the same time. A funny, profound and appetising volume."— Brian Eno, composer While I did find some of Chang’s opinions to be distinctly British — though born and raised in South Korea, Ha-Joon Chang attended university and now teaches in the UK — it was still easy to remind myself that this is a book of opinions as much as it is a book of fact. It’s not a textbook, but rather a unique economic overview from one individual’s perspective. I do appreciate the author’s evident extended effort to present ideas and concepts fairly, particularly multiple discussions of different versions and perspectives of the same theories, but the overarching author’s voice and bias is still ever-present. Fortunately, Ha-Joon Chang’s final recommendation to the reader is to understand that every perspective is just that: a perspective. Economics, though presented as firmly rooted in hard data and science, is just as much a matter of opinion as most things in this world. You are what you eat, in the same way that you are what you know, the book seems to say. A seemingly unlikely parallel is drawn between the understanding of food and economic thinking, only to reveal itself as universal and foundational as human existence itself. At the end of the day, we are no hunter-gatherers and our economic activities and financial choices are what brings food to the table. We have a choice, therefore, both in our economic choices and our dietary selections. This book is an encouragement to choose to broaden our culinary horizons and seek a diverse economic diet. Diversity will not only make difficult concepts more palatable, but it will also surely enrich our lives. P130: “[more re climate change] “…we need to drive less in personal vehicles….” And government has to determine better living arrangements for us- so we can walk to stores or use public transportation. This is the same egomania that underlined Stalin and Mao’s collectivization drives that killed millions. The titles of the sections might sound rather generic or dry, but the writing is anything but. Each chapter has a recipe as a header, not in full but as a list of ingredients that go into the recipe that showcases the food item used as an example to discuss the theme of the chapter. I'm not much of a recipe enthusiast, but sometimes I wanted to know the preparation part of the recipe mentioned. I guess it's left like that, just a list, so we can experiment if we want?

El autor es un economista partidario de un capitalismo regulado y sustentable, pero un gran detractor de las premisas neoliberales que han sido dominantes en las últimas décadas. En cada uno de sus libros, los mitos económicos ultraliberales quedan al descubierto, demostrado su falta de evidencia real e histórica. Ha-Joon Chang has done it again. His prose delights and nourishes in equal measure. Somehow he manages to smuggle an urgent discussion of the relevance of economics to our daily lives into stories about food and cooking that are charming, funny and sweet (but never sour). In taking on the economic establishment, Chang is like a teddy bear savaging a rottweiler. David Pilling Seemingly complicated economic subjects like international trade, automation, inequality, and climate change are all understandable if explained in a user-friendly way. 3. Talking about food is a nice way to get interested in economics.Over time I’ve become more and more convinced that in a capitalist economy, democracy is meaningless without everyone knowing some economics because so many decisions are bound up with it,” Chang explained when we met in Sushi Samba, a JapaneseSouth American restaurant, in central London. Below, Ha-Joon shares 5 key insights from his new book, Edible Economics: A Hungry Economist Explains the World. Listen to the audio version—read by Ha-Joon himself—in the Next Big Idea App. https://cdn.nextbigideaclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/11023345/BB_HaJoonChang_Mix.mp3 1. Everyone needs to learn economics. I would be lying if I said I didn't have passion for food. So when I saw this unusual premise of explaining economics through what we eat, I had to read it. I asked if there was any country or model that he regarded as exemplar. “No one’s perfect, you have to learn different things from different countries. In terms of building productive capabilities, you should look at countries such as Germany, South Korea, even Taiwan, which has used various types of industrial policy.” P 130: “ [re climate change, the government decides what you eat] “…changing our eating habits can have a big impact….I am not suggesting that we should totally give up on food variety, but those who live in rich countries should reduce their expectations for ‘on demand’ food.” This is particularly obnoxious because the author recounts throughout the book his international diet.

One illustration comes from my own experience of the changes in British food culture. In 1986, I moved from my native South Korea to Britain, to do my graduate studies. At the time, food in Britain was awful—everything was overcooked and bland. People were afraid of new things. They refused to eat “foreign food.” “A diverse food culture, based on an open mind to new things and experimentation, is what makes our culinary life interesting and healthy.” The food stories are not just a pretext for a dry lecture, they are fascinating and engaging in themselves - so much engaging that you won’t realize when they morph into the economic ones. The author has an uncanny ability to connect very different topics into one coherent tale - say, pasta and automobile industry, or anchovy, guano and fertilizers. There has been a lot more industrial policy than people realize. To put it more bluntly, the Silicon Valley would not have existed without US government funding for initial technologies like the computer, the internet, and GPS. All of these were funded by the Pentagon. Semiconductor research was initially funded by the US Navy. A brilliant riposte to the myth that policymakers can survive on plain neoliberal fare. Edible Economics is a moveable feast of alternative economic ideas wrapped up in witty stories about food from around the world. Ha-Joon Chang proves yet again that he is one of the most exciting economists at work today.” I was worried that this book would be similar to the Jungle and I'd be considering being a vegan after reading this book. But alas, Edible Economics didn't go in that direction. I've been in a bit of a rut with my reading and this non-fiction book caught my attention (extra kudos regarding the cover design) .So, in a capitalist society, democracy is meaningless unless every citizen knows at least some economics. Otherwise, voting in elections becomes like voting in a talent show. I remember a lot of Americans voting for George W. Bush in the 2000 presidential election, saying that he “looks like a guy I could have a beer with.” What a criterion to elect someone for the most powerful political office in the world! Writing gamely and with admirable lucidity, Chang concludes with another metaphor, urging that ‘the best economists should be, like the best of the cooks, able to combine different theories to have a more balanced view’…It’ll help to have Econ 101 under your belt to appreciate this book, but it makes for fine foodie entertainment.” Today, the British food scene is totally different. It has become one of the most diverse and exciting places to eat in the world. A brilliant riposte to the myth that policymakers can survive on plain neoliberal fare. Edible Economics is a moveable feast of alternative economic ideas wrapped up in witty stories about food from around the world. Ha-Joon Chang proves yet again that he is one of the most exciting economists at work today. Owen Jones Only when we balance these different types of freedoms will we have a more balanced society or more humane form of capitalism. I don’t believe that there’s just one kind of capitalism. There are many different kinds, and we can make institutional changes to make capitalism more humane.