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Edible Economics
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Edible Economics

A Hungry Economist Explains the World

Ha-Joon Chang
Public Affairs, 2023
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Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Overview
  • Eloquent
  • Engaging

Recommendation

With several best-selling titles already under his belt, economist Ha-Joon Chang takes a different approach in this book, blending important economic concepts with stories relating to food. For example, he notes the significant role of garlic in his native South Korean culture and economy, and so he outlines his text with food-titled chapter headings – like “Noodles” and “Chocolate” – that explore the direct and tangential impacts these items have on socioeconomic issues. Chang, an eloquent writer, offers the economics-hesitant reader an appetizing menu that encompasses economic theory, history and development.

Summary

The world of food and cooking can impart some insightful lessons to budding economists.

The author, who grew up in South Korea, chose to study economics in the United Kingdom, which at that time had a diverse academic environment. However, the field of economics has since become more homogenized around the concepts of free market, neoclassical theory. Meanwhile, the opposite has happened within the United Kingdom’s food and restaurant culture: In the 1980s, the food there seemed exceptionally bland to a South Korean used to strong flavors – especially to his home country’s staple, garlic – but now major cities have some of the best restaurants in the world, and they promote adventurous food trends.

Economic education, like food consumption, is best when it consists of a varied diet, with different influences complementing one another. With both food and economics, it is important to check and understand the provenance of the ingredients in a recipe and the economic inputs to theories – that is, the assumptions and claimed facts that support them. Like the best cooks, good economists have the confidence and imagination to defy convention...

About the Author

Ha-Joon Chang teaches economics at SOAS University of London. He is the author of Economics: The User’s Guide; Bad Samaritans: The Myth of Free Trade and the Secret History of Capitalism; and 23 Things They Don’t Tell You About Capitalism.

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