Edible Economics: A Hungry Economist Explains the World

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Chang has made the (sometimes extremely dry and convoluted) world of economic theory much more palatable by wrapping the topics in food; a little economic pig-in-a-blanket if you will.

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. composer Brian Eno The food stories in the book are diverse. Sometimes they are about the origin and the spreading of the food item in question, often through economic processes, like global trade, migration, slavery, and colonialism. Sometimes these stories are about the significance of the food item in some culture or historical events. Or they could even be about my personal relationship with that food item.I try to bribe my potential readers into thinking about economics by wrapping dry economic arguments in succulent food stories. Food is so fundamental to our survival, identity, and happiness that most people are interested in it. Talking about food is a natural way to draw people in—especially if you want to eventually talk about things that people think are boring. My food stories are a bit like the ice cream that some of your mums may have offered to ‘bribe’ you to eat your ‘greens’ – except that in this book ice cream comes first, the greens later (what a deal!)” - admits Ha-Joon Chang in the preface. But he is also right when he adds: “my economic stories are going to be rewards in themselves because I have made them tastier than the usual by making them more varied in kind and more complex in flavour”.

Book Genre: Business, Culture, Economics, Finance, Food, Food and Drink, History, Nonfiction, Politics, Society To think of a recent example, the development of the COVID-19 vaccine was hugely funded by governments. Exact estimates differ, but according to some estimates, up to 80 percent of funding came from the government and other public sources. So there has been a lot more industrial policy around than we realize. 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?

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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.” For starters, this book is not about the economics of food. It's rather a compilation of personal anecdotes, food history tidbits, and a critique of economic theories to explain the world we live in. However, one thing that emerges from all these stories is that a diverse food culture, based on an open mind to new things and experimentation, is what makes our culinary life interesting and healthy. This is an in-person event, and the RSVP is only for the internal use of the co-sponsoring organizations: Center for Economic and Policy Research, Public Citizen, and the Institute for Policy Studies' Global Economy Project. We look forward to seeing you at Busboys and Poets. Edible Economics brings the sort of creative fusion that spices up a great kitchen to the often too-disciplined subject of economics.

Economic thinking - about globalisation, climate change, immigration, austerity, automation and much more - in its most digestible form I almost bribe my reader to get interested in economics. Almost everyone is interested in food, but many people find that economics are too dry, difficult, and technical. So I’m trying to lure my readers into the book by telling them interesting stories about food and then making that transition into economic arguments. In the 19th century, cotton and tobacco, which were mostly grown on plantations that held slaves, were the main exports of the United States. It was not an industrialized country; it was an agrarian economy. These two agriculture products alone provided up to 65 percent of US export earnings. Two-thirds of the exports were produced by slaves. Given this prevalence of unfree labor, first in the form of slavery and then in the form of indentured labor, it is quite ironic that freedom has become the central concept in the defense of capitalism by free-market economists. For another example, Neoclassical economics starts its analysis after taking the existing distribution of income, wealth, and power as given, so it is inherently bad at challenging the status quo. So, the dominance of economics by the Neoclassical school means that economics is now playing the role of Catholic theology in Medieval Europe. It has become a doctrine that tells people that things are what they are because they have to be, no matter how unjust and wasteful they may look.

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Edible Economics brings the sort of creative fusion that spices up a great kitchen to the often too-disciplined subject of economics For decades, a single, free-market philosophy has dominated global economics. But this intellectual monoculture is bland and unhealthy. Bestselling author and economist Ha-Joon Chang makes challenging economic ideas delicious by plating them alongside stories about food from around the world, using the diverse histories behind familiar food items to explore economic theory. For Chang, chocolate is a lifelong addiction, but more exciting are the insights it offers into postindustrial knowledge economies; and while okra makes Southern gumbo heart-meltingly smooth, it also speaks of capitalism’s entangled relationship with freedom. Myth-busting, witty, and thought-provoking, Edible Economics serves up a feast of bold ideas about globalization, climate change, immigration, austerity, automation, and why carrots need not be orange. It shows that getting to grips with the economy is like learning a recipe: when we understand it, we can adapt and improve it–and better understand our world. Edible Economics: A Hungry Economist Explains the World by Ha-Joon Chang – eBook Details 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 He added: “When I was born in the early 1960s, South Korea was one of the poorest countries in the world and life expectancy was 53 years. I’m 59, I should be dead. Economic development has completely changed our life chances and possibilities. In the long run, things can dramatically change.” Myth-busting, witty, and thought-provoking, Edible Economics serves up a feast of bold ideas about globalization, climate change, immigration, austerity, automation, and why carrots need not be orange. It shows that getting to grips with the economy is like learning a recipe: when we understand it, we can adapt and improve it — and better understand our world. 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.