Edible Economics: A Hungry Economist Explains the World

Product Information

This is the same egomania that underlined Stalin and Mao’s collectivization drives that killed millions. 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. Now I’m off to read some additional reviews to see what others thought about this one, because I’m not entirely sure what to think.

It doesn't necessarily translate to how food/ingredients shape the global economy but it tries to draw parallelisms into economic concepts. But if you're already in the field, read it for the interesting stories on ingredients and gastronomy.

I honestly never thought I would enjoy a book on economics, but I found myself fascinated the whole way through. En cada uno de sus libros, los mitos económicos ultraliberales quedan al descubierto, demostrado su falta de evidencia real e histórica. I'm very used to Europeans and Europe-based gurus (the author is South Korean, but he's made his career in the UK, so I'm counting him in) being awful at analysing South America, save the Spaniards and Portuguese because language and historical ties that continue make them closer and more in touch, but it never ceases to bother me how ill-informed their commentary can be sometimes. I enjoyed every one of Chang's food segments that usually included a brief history of what a particular culture eats and some interesting thoughts on recipes and differences between the cultures.

Ha-Joon Chang teaches economics at SOAS University of London, and is one of the world's leading economists. I enjoyed the conversational and anecdotal format, and the interlinking of stuff I knew with stuff I didn't. A brilliant economics public science, there are many of these out there but the use of the dishes as a segue into each chapter is a wonderful idea that was well-executed here. Now he’s reached the summit of the profession; a fun little book of essays (some of them extended and expanded versions of columns for FT Magazine), restating the case against the Washington consensus through the medium of recipes. Keeping my copy of this book as I definitely want to read it again, and it's hard to say much in the reveal without either giving it away or turning this review into something overly technical!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. Government services: the IRS has ancient technology as do air traffic controllers - all thanks to our government leaders. 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.

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.Ha-Joon Chang is a Professor Economics at SOAS University of London, and is one of the world’s leading economists. Permite viajar en el tiempo, por lugares diversos, conociendo detalles sabrosos de los alimentos y de ricas tradiciones culinarias, enlazando todo aquello con reflexiones convincentes sobre problemáticas económicas que repercuten en la vida cotidiana de todos los habitantes de este planeta. The definitive, behind-the-scenes look at why Pokémon's evolution from a single Japanese video game to global powerhouse captured the world's attention, and how the "gotta catch 'em all" mentality of its fanbase shaped pop culture—and continues to do so today. I might be past the point in my economics education where beginner-level books aimed at introducing economics to general readers fail to excite me, but this was such a fresh style and take on the subject.