Edible Economics: A Hungry Economist Explains the World
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-11-08 08:51:33
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Ha-Joon Chang
- ISBN：024153464X
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
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 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。
Reviews
Michelle Mason
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Very good。 Worth a revisit。
Annaka
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If you have an interest in food， history， and/or economics this book may be for you！ A fairly short read that explains economic concepts through tales of food。 I learned a good deal from each chapter and the author manages to entwine complicated concepts with charming stories and various facts。 There are a few awkward transitions and pacing issues but nothing severe enough to overcome the good。 I’ve received an ARC in exchange for an honest review。
Mohd Jamizal
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Just wow Ha Joon Chang made it again to explain economics in leisure manner yet academics。 He explains economic principles via his favourite food and dishes but relate it to economic issues i。e employment， productivity， cultural， institution so on。 Good read as we could refresh our mind on the nature of human behaviour。
Marquise
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3。5 starsThis book isn't about the economy of food production from planting to the market's shelf but about worldwide economics explained through food， a clever concept that makes economics accessible for the layperson。 Being one of the laypeople who thinks of economy only when deciding between a 0。9 kg can or a 300 g can of anchovies in olive oil on a given run to the supermarket， I appreciated how Mr Chang used commonly eaten and popular foodstuff across the world to explain economic theories， 3。5 starsThis book isn't about the economy of food production from planting to the market's shelf but about worldwide economics explained through food， a clever concept that makes economics accessible for the layperson。 Being one of the laypeople who thinks of economy only when deciding between a 0。9 kg can or a 300 g can of anchovies in olive oil on a given run to the supermarket， I appreciated how Mr Chang used commonly eaten and popular foodstuff across the world to explain economic theories， political-economic systems， processes， and even an economist's overview of world history from the recent past to the present。 Taking the example of the humble anchovy， he tells us how the raw materials based economies were ruined by the surge of synthetic substitutes， as happened to guano， rubber， and dyes， on which economies such as Peru's， Brazil's and Guatemala's were dependent on to prosper， and how this can happen again （and why）。 That makes it so very understandable， put so simply， than the complex sociological and economical theories most of us would find labyrinthine at best and boring or dry at worst。Using foodstuffs that go from meat （anchovy， beef， chicken， prawn） to veggies （carrot， okra）， nuts （acorn） and fruit （banana， strawberry）， to processed food （noodles） and finally drinks & desserts （Coca-Cola， chocolate）， as conversation starters， each of the chapters dedicated to a given foodstuff will teach you something about economics。 All the foods are organised thematically in five parts， which keeps them organised enough because sometimes the author tends to wander around a bit。 Part One is about overcoming prejudice through using the author's own experience overcoming his aversion to food like okra （I can relate， hate that thing）， and the next is about becoming more productive， then the third is about doing better globally; and the fourth and last sections are about living together and thinking of the future。 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？ Anyway， you won't only learn about economics， you'll get plenty of neat historical facts you didn't know about， too。 For example， did you know that beef extract， that cube you throw into your soup， was invented with the best of intentions （to bring the proteins of beef to poor people that couldn't buy meat as it was super expensive before the 1900s） by a German chemist？ It ultimately didn't end up being the malnutrition problem-solver it was meant to be， sadly， but that goes to show that the now often demonised "processed food" was originally meant to address serious challenges to feed the population。 I enjoyed the conversational and anecdotal format， and the interlinking of stuff I knew with stuff I didn't。 Being a history reader， I knew about events like those told in the Anchovy chapter， the Banana chapter， etc。， and had a basic understanding of some economic phenomena such as industrialisation overtaking raw-materials based economies in terms of income and prosperity。 It reminded me a bit of A History of the World in 6 Glasses in style and aims， though with a different focus as Standage's is history and Chang's is economy。 I love this intermingling of foodie enthusiasm and academic erudition！ Of course， the author is not an historian and neither is he a sociologist， and his explanations are going to be simplified for the sake of readability， clarity， and brevity too， as this is a short book。 So do bear in mind that the book is meant for the general public， the lay public， and not for specialists in economy or history， and that a lot of the things asserted here are the author's opinions and experiences， and tastes in food， which are always personal。 I had my favourite chapters， and plenty of moments exclaiming "I never knew that！" But I also could tell when information was incomplete， or simply not true。 The chapter on Coca-Cola， for one， showed me the author （or his research team） aren't all that versed in Latin American politics， so the commentary there was grating to me。 There's one footnote in which he says "installed by the coup d'état" about the former president of Bolivia， which isn't true， and tells me more what the author/his research team were reading to have given such an overview of the entire continent in the manner he did。 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。 There's enough omitted and oversimplied in that chapter that it was bothersome。Would I recommend this book？ Yes， if you're an adventurous eater like me， who also likes micro-history books and the mixing of topics in an amenable way。 This book reminded me why Southeast Asian cuisine is the one ethnic food group I most want to try， and reassured me in my obstinately experimental tastes。 There's no ethnic food I won't try， to the point those that know me ask me half-teasingly and half-seriously， "Just what don't you like？" Well， perhaps okra， but now that Mr Chang mentioned gumbo was what convinced his palate to welcome okra， I'm going to try it one day。 Thank you to PublicAffairs for the ARC in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
Colleen
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