RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEK Economic thinking - about globalisation, climate change, immigration, austerity, automation and much more - in its most digestible form For decades, a single free market philosophy has dominated global economics. But this is bland and unhealthy - like British food in the 1980s, when bestselling author and economist Ha-Joon Chang first arrived in the UK from South Korea. Just as eating a wide range of cuisines contributes to a more interesting and balanced diet, so too is it essential we listen to a variety of economic perspectives. In Edible Economics, Chang makes challenging economic ideas more palatable by plating them alongside stories about food from around the world. He uses histories behind familiar food items - where they come from, how they are cooked and consumed, what they mean to different cultures - to explore economic theory. For Chang, chocolate is a life-long addiction, but more exciting are the insights it offers into post-industrial knowledge economies; and while okra makes Southern gumbo heart-meltingly smooth, it also speaks of capitalism's entangled relationship with freedom and unfreedom. Explaining everything from the hidden cost of care work to the misleading language of the free market as he cooks dishes like anchovy and egg toast, Gambas al Ajillo and Korean dotori mook, Ha-Joon Chang serves up an easy-to-digest feast of bold ideas. Myth-busting, witty and thought-provoking, Edible Economics shows that getting to grips with the economy is like learning a recipe: if we understand it, we can change it - and, with it, the world.

RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEK Economic thinking - about globalisation, climate change, immigration, austerity, automation and much more - in its most digestible form For decades, a single free market philosophy has dominated global economics. But this is bland and unhealthy - like British food in the 1980s, when bestselling author and economist Ha-Joon Chang first arrived in the UK from South Korea. Just as eating a wide range of cuisines contributes to a more interesting and balanced diet, so too is it essential we listen to a variety of economic perspectives. In Edible Economics, Chang makes challenging economic ideas more palatable by plating them alongside stories about food from around the world. He uses histories behind familiar food items - where they come from, how they are cooked and consumed, what they mean to different cultures - to explore economic theory. For Chang, chocolate is a life-long addiction, but more exciting are the insights it offers into post-industrial knowledge economies; and while okra makes Southern gumbo heart-meltingly smooth, it also speaks of capitalism's entangled relationship with freedom and unfreedom. Explaining everything from the hidden cost of care work to the misleading language of the free market as he cooks dishes like anchovy and egg toast, Gambas al Ajillo and Korean dotori mook, Ha-Joon Chang serves up an easy-to-digest feast of bold ideas. Myth-busting, witty and thought-provoking, Edible Economics shows that getting to grips with the economy is like learning a recipe: if we understand it, we can change it - and, with it, the world.

Economic thinking - about climate change, immigration, austerity, automation and much more - in its most digestible form For decades, a single free market philosophy has dominated global economics. But this is bland and unhealthy - like British food in the 1980s, when bestselling author and Cambridge economist Ha-Joon Chang first arrived in the UK from South Korea. Just as eating a wide range of cuisines contributes to a balanced diet, so too is it essential we listen to a variety of economic perspectives. In Edible Economics, Chang makes challenging economic ideas more palatable by plating them alongside anecdotes about food from around the world. Beginning each chapter with a menu, Chang uses the stories behind key ingredients - where they come from, how they are cooked and consumed, what they mean to different cultures - to explore economic theory. For Chang, strawberries are delicious with cream, but they also prophesise a jobless future; chocolate is a wonderful pudding, but more exciting are the insights it offers into post-industrial knowledge economies. Explaining everything from the hidden cost of care work to the misleading language of the free market as he cooks dishes like anchovy and egg toast, Gambas al Ajillo and Korean dotori mook, Ha-Joon Chang serves up an easy-to-digest feast of bold ideas. Myth-busting, witty and thought-provoking, Edible Economics shows that getting to grips with the economy is like learning a recipe: if we understand it, we can change it - and, with it, the world.

What is economics? What can - and can't - it explain about the world? Why does it matter? Ha-Joon Chang teaches economics at Cambridge University, and writes a column for the Guardian. The Observer called his book 23 Things They Don't Tell You About Capitalism, which was a no.1 bestseller, 'a witty and timely debunking of some of the biggest myths surrounding the global economy.' He won the Wassily Leontief Prize for advancing the frontiers of economic thought, and is a vocal critic of the failures of our current economic system.

The rise of the institutionalist and evolutionary approaches in economics has posed a serious intellectual challenge to the dominant neo-classical paradigm. This book draws together leading scholars in the fields of institutional and evolutionary economics who apply cutting-edge research to one of the most controversial issues of our day, namely, the role of the state.The authors offer a sound methodological guide to the research in this fast-evolving area of economics. They provide a firm theoretical foundation for the role of the state and review the history of policy making. They also use country studies to reinforce their approach, including the role of the state in the Asian Crisis, the current debate on state reform in Japan, public administration in Central and Eastern Europe and the practice of state reform in Brazil. This book will inspire readers to reassess their views on the role of the state and state reform.

This book critically re-examines the currently dominant paradigm of agricultural development policy from historical and comparative perspectives. Examining the experiences of 11 developed countries in their earlier stages of development and the experiences of 10 developing and transition economies in the last half a century, the book offers an in-depth discussion on a range of public policies for agriculture, some currently in use and others forgotten in the mist of history. After presenting the overarching theoretical framework and a synthesis of findings over the 21 countries examined, the book presents six detailed case studies of agricultural policy in the last half a century in two Latin American countries (Chile and Mexico), two African countries (Ethiopia and Ghana), and two Asian countries (India and Vietnam). Each chapter examines a wide range of policies, including land policy (land tenure reform and land quality improvement), knowledge policy (research, extension, education, and information), credit policy (specialized banks and agricultural credit co-operatives), physical inputs policy (irrigation, transport, electricity, and divisible inputs such as fertilizers, seeds, and farm machinery), policies intended to increase farm income stability (price stabilization measures, insurances, and trade protection), and policies intended to improve agricultural marketing and processing. Through its historical and comparative approaches, the book frees our "policy imagination" by showing that the range of policies and institutions that have produced positive outcomes for agricultural development has been much wider than any particular ideological position - be it the pre-1980s statist one or the pro-market NCW - would admit. It also shows that the willingness to experiment with new policies and institutions, and the willingness to learn from other countries' successes and improve upon their solutions, were important in all agricultural success stories.

The 1997 South Korean financial crisis not only shook the country itself but also sent shock waves through the financial world at large. This impressive book critically assesses the conventional wisdom surrounding the Korean crisis and the performance of the IMF-sponsored reform programme.
Looking first at the strengths and weaknesses of 'Korea Inc.' in comparison with other East Asian countries, the authors describe the challenges faced by Korea in the 1990s due to the acceleration of globalization. By arguing that the transition attempted by Korea was badly conceived and ill designed, Restructuring 'Korea Inc.' focuses on corporate reform after the crisis that has led to the running up of huge 'transition costs'.
This snappy, informative and readable book has a broad historical overview and with its suggestions for structural change for Korea. This book is an important contribution not only to Asian studies, but also to the study of financial crises and the political economy of economic reform.

eBook available with sample pages: 0203219414

Ha-Joon Chang's 23 Things They Don't Tell You About Capitalism turns received economic wisdom on its head to show you how the world really works. In this revelatory book, Ha-Joon Chang destroys the biggest myths of our times and shows us an alternative view of the world, including: There's no such thing as a 'free' market Globalization isn't making the world richer We don't live in a digital world - the washing machine has changed lives more than the internet Poor countries are more entrepreneurial than rich ones Higher paid managers don't produce better results We don't have to accept things as they are any longer. Ha-Joon Chang is here to show us there's a better way. 'Lively, accessible and provocative ... read this book' - Sunday Times 'A witty and timely debunking of some of the biggest myths surrounding the global economy' - Observer 'The new kid on the economics block ... Chang's iconoclastic attitude has won him fans' - Independent on Sunday 'Lucid ... audacious ... increasingly influential ... will provoke physical symptoms of revulsion if you are in any way involved in high finance' - Guardian 'Important ... persuasive ... an engaging case for a more caring era of globalization' - Financial Times 'A must-read ... incisive and entertaining' - New Statesman Books of the Year Ha-Joon Chang is a Reader in the Political Economy of Development at the University of Cambridge. He is author of Kicking Away the Ladder: Development Strategy in Historical Perspective, which won the 2003 Gunnar Myrdal Prize, and Bad Samaritans: Rich Nations, Poor Policies and the Threat to the Developing World. Since the beginning of the 2008 economic crisis, he has been a regular contributor to the Guardian, and a vocal critic of the failures of our economic system.

This book critically re-examines the currently dominant paradigm of agricultural development policy from historical and comparative perspectives. Examining the experiences of 11 developed countries in their earlier stages of development and the experiences of 10 developing and transition economies in the last half a century, the book offers an in-depth discussion on a range of public policies for agriculture, some currently in use and others forgotten in the mist of history. After presenting the overarching theoretical framework and a synthesis of findings over the 21 countries examined, the book presents six detailed case studies of agricultural policy in the last half a century in two Latin American countries (Chile and Mexico), two African countries (Ethiopia and Ghana), and two Asian countries (India and Vietnam). Each chapter examines a wide range of policies, including land policy (land tenure reform and land quality improvement), knowledge policy (research, extension, education, and information), credit policy (specialized banks and agricultural credit co-operatives), physical inputs policy (irrigation, transport, electricity, and divisible inputs such as fertilizers, seeds, and farm machinery), policies intended to increase farm income stability (price stabilization measures, insurances, and trade protection), and policies intended to improve agricultural marketing and processing. Through its historical and comparative approaches, the book frees our "policy imagination" by showing that the range of policies and institutions that have produced positive outcomes for agricultural development has been much wider than any particular ideological position - be it the pre-1980s statist one or the pro-market NCW - would admit. It also shows that the willingness to experiment with new policies and institutions, and the willingness to learn from other countries' successes and improve upon their solutions, were important in all agricultural success stories.

In his bestselling "23 Things They Don't Tell You About Capitalism," Cambridge economist Ha-Joon Chang brilliantly debunked many of the predominant myths of neoclassical economics. Now, in an entertaining and accessible primer, he explains how the global economy actually works--in real-world terms. Writing with irreverent wit, a deep knowledge of history, and a disregard for conventional economic pieties, Chang offers insights that will never be found in the textbooks.

Unlike many economists, who present only one view of their discipline, Chang introduces a wide range of economic theories, from classical to Keynesian, revealing how each has its strengths and weaknesses, and why there is no one way to explain economic behavior. Instead, by ignoring the received wisdom and exposing the myriad forces that shape our financial world, Chang gives us the tools we need to understand our increasingly global and interconnected world often driven by economics. From the future of the Euro, inequality in China, or the condition of the American manufacturing industry here in the United States--"Economics: The User's Guide" is a concise and expertly crafted guide to economic fundamentals that offers a clear and accurate picture of the global economy and how and why it affects our daily lives.

How did the rich countries really become rich? In this provocative study, Ha-Joon Chang examines the great pressure on developing countries from the developed world to adopt certain 'good policies' and 'good institutions', seen today as necessary for economic development. Adopting a historical approach, Dr Chang finds that the economic evolution of now-developed countries differed dramatically from the procedures that they now recommend to poorer nations. His conclusions are compelling and disturbing: that developed countries are attempting to 'kick away the ladder' with which they have climbed to the top, thereby preventing developing counties from adopting policies and institutions that they themselves have used. This book is the winner of the 2003 Myrdal Prize, European Association of Evolutionary Political Economy. For more information please see the book website: http: //kickingawaytheladder.anthempressblog.com

Today East Asia is the richest part of the world outside the old industrial centres of Western Europe and North America. Despite political authoritarianism, human rights violations, corruption, repression of labour unions, gender discrimination and mistreatment of ethnic minorities, the citizens of the East Asian economies have experienced improvements in income and general well-being unparalleled in human history. In this book, Ha-Joon Chang provides a fresh analysis of this spectacular growth. He considers East Asian economies' unorthodox methods, and their rejection of 'best practice' and so-called Washington Consensus policies. East Asia, he claims, can teach us much about the whole process of economic development. Full of new facts and policy suggestions, this is a lively and unconventional introduction to a global phenomenon.

This title begins from the standpoint that new thinking is needed if South Africa is to generate sustainable economic growth, provide employment and decent work and promote rural development. As comparisons with other developing economies, particularly South Korea and Brazil, show, it is possible for the so-called developmental state to direct and plan economic activity and achieve developmental objectives. At the same time the title warns about the perverse impacts of black economic empowerment, particularly the growth of a rentier class of well-connected entrepreneurs.

The acclaimed Ha-Joon Chang is a voice of sanity-and wit-in this lighthearted book with a serious purpose: to question the assumptions behind the dogma and sheer hype that the dominant school of neoliberal economists have spun since the Age of Reagan." 23 Things They Don't Tell You about Capitalism" uses twenty-three short essays (a few great examples: ""There Is No Such Thing as a Free Market,""""The Washing Machine Has Changed the World More than the Internet Has"") to equip readers with an understanding of how global capitalism works, and doesn't, while offering a vision of how we can shape capitalism to humane ends, instead of becoming slaves of the market.

Praise for" 23 Things They Don't Tell You about Capitalism"

"A lively, accessible and provocative book."-"Sunday Times"(UK )

"Chang, befitting his position as an economics professor at Cambridge University, is engagingly thoughtful and opinionated at a much lower decibel level. 'The "truths" peddled by free-market ideologues are based on lazy assumptions and blinkered visions, ' he charges."-"Time"

"Lucid, deeply informed, and enlivened with striking illustrations, this penetrating study could be entitled 'Economics in the Real World.' Chang reveals the yawning gap between standard doctrines concerning economic development and what really has taken place from the origins of the industrial revolution until today. His incisive analysis shows how, and why, prescriptions based on reigning doctrines have caused severe harm, particularly to the most vulnerable and defenseless, and are likely to continue to do so."--Noam Chomsky

Using irreverent wit, an engagingly personal style, and a battery of examples, Chang blasts holes in the "World I s Flat" orthodoxy of T homas Friedman and other liberal economists who argue that only unfettered capitalism and wide-open international trade can lift struggling nations out of poverty. On the contrary, Chang shows, today's economic superpowers--from the U .S. to Britain to his native Korea--all attained prosperity by shameless protectionism and government intervention in industry. We have conveniently forgotten this fact, telling ourselves a fairy tale about the magic of free trade and--via our proxies such as the World Bank, I nternational Monetary Fund, and World T rade Organization--ramming policies that suit ourselves down the throat of the developing world.

The mainstream view of the way in which best to transform the communist economies was that there should be a rapid transition to a free market economy and political democracy. The articles in this book challenge this view. They do so from the standpoint of economic and political theory, and from an evaluation of the comparative experience of different reforming countries in Europe and Asia. This book represents the first systematic attempt to try to explain the dramatic contrast in outcome between reforming countries that have pursued comprehensive system reform and those that have pursued cautious, experimental strategies.

According to many scientists, climate change is a growing threat to life as we know it, requiring a large-scale, immediate response. According to many economists, climate change is a moderately important problem; the best policy is a slow, gradual start, to avoid spending too much. They can't both be right.

In this book, Frank Ackerman offers a refreshing look at the economics of climate change, explaining how the arbitrary assumptions of conventional theories get in the way of understanding this urgent problem. The benefits of climate protection are vital but priceless, and hence often devalued in cost-benefit calculations. Preparation for the most predictable outcomes of global warming is less important than protection against the growing risk of catastrophic change; massive investment in new, low carbon technologies and industries should be thought of as life insurance for the planet.

Ackerman makes an impassioned plea to construct a better economics, arguing that the solutions are affordable and the alternative is unthinkable. If we can't afford the future, what are we saving our money for?

"Can we Afford the Future?" is part of "The New Economics" series, which uses the ideas behind a new, more human economics to provide a fresh way of looking at major contemporary issues.

This book will turn every piece of received economic wisdom you've heard on its head. It reveals the truth behind what 'they' tell you and shows how the system really works, including: There's no such thing as a 'free' market. Globalization isn't making the world richer. We don't live in a digital world - the washing machine has changed lives more than the Internet. Poor countries are more entrepreneurial than rich ones. Higher paid managers don't produce better results. This galvanizing, fact-packed book about money, equality, freedom and greed proves that the free market isn't just bad for people - it's an inefficient way of running economies too. Here Chang lays out the alternatives, and shows there's a better way.

The role of the state in the economy has always been a controversial issue in public debate, but it has become more so in the last quarter of a century with the rise of neoliberal thinking that preaches the virtues of unregulated markets and recommends de-regulation, opening-up, and privatisation. This push for a minimal, pro-business state, especially in developing countries, has been further intensified with both the rise of globalisation and the many radical neoliberal 'reforms' implemented, often under pressure from multilateral agencies (such as the IMF, the World Bank, and the WTO). In this book, the author highlights the failure of neoliberalism, especially in developing countries, or what he terms 'the intellectual bankruptcy of neoliberalism', which, he believes, 'stems ultimately from its failure to base its discourse on a balanced and sophisticated theory of the inter-relationship between the market, the state, and other institutions'. He also tries to construct a credible alternative theoretical framework to neoliberalism, informed by a balanced understanding of empirical evidence. The issues covered concern a rather wide range of domestic and international policy issues - including trade policy, privatisation, transnational corporations, and intellectual property rights.

It's rare that a book appears with a fresh perspective on world affairs, but renowned economist Ha-Joon Chang has some startlingly original things to say about the future of globalization. In theory, he argues, the world's wealthiest countries and supra-national institutions like the IMF, World Bank and WTO want to see all nations developing into modern industrial societies. In practice, though, those at the top are 'kicking away the ladder' to wealth that they themselves climbed. Why? Self-interest certainly plays a part. But, more often, rich and powerful governments and institutions are actually being 'Bad Samaritans': their intentions are worthy but their simplistic free-market ideology and poor understanding of history leads them to inflict policy errors on others. Chang demonstrates this by contrasting the route to success of economically vibrant countries with the very different route now being dictated to the world's poorer nations. In the course of this, he shows just how muddled the thinking is in such key areas as trade and foreign investment. He shows that the case for privatisation and against state involvement is far from proven. And he explores the ways in which attitudes to national cultures and political ideologies are obscuring clear thinking and creating bad policy. Finally, he argues the case for new strategies for a more prosperous world that may appall the 'Bad Samaritans'.

There is no alternative to neoliberal economics. In 2004 americanisation and globalisation were and to a large degree still are the driving assumptions within the international development policy establishment. Reclaiming Development confronts the validity of this neoliberal development model head-on by combining devastating economic logic with an in-depth analysis of the historical experiences of leading Western and East Asian economies. A lot has changed since 2004, though - the global financial crisis and the success of some developing countries in weathering the crisis have transformed the latent cleavages in the neoliberal model, resulting in an increasingly open environment of policy innovation and experimentation in the Global South. If anything, these changes mean that Reclaiming Development is even more relevant today than when it was first published, with real hope that the policies articulated then might finally be realized in practice.An essential landmark work that continues to grow in influence.

According to many scientists, climate change is a growing threat to life as we know it, requiring a large-scale, immediate response. According to many economists, climate change is a moderately important problem; the best policy is a slow, gradual start, to avoid spending too much. They can't both be right. In this book, Frank Ackerman offers a refreshing look at the economics of climate change, explaining how the arbitrary assumptions of conventional theories get in the way of understanding this urgent problem. The benefits of climate protection are vital but priceless, and hence often devalued in cost-benefit calculations. Preparation for the most predictable outcomes of global warming is less important than protection against the growing risk of catastrophic change; massive investment in new, low carbon technologies and industries should be thought of as life insurance for the planet. Ackerman makes an impassioned plea to construct a better economics, arguing that the solutions are affordable and the alternative is unthinkable. If we can't afford the future, what are we saving our money for? Can we Afford the Future? is part of The New Economics series, which uses the ideas behind a new, more human economics to provide a fresh way of looking at major contemporary issues.