In Edible Economics, Chang takes an idiosyncratic approach to his two favourite subjects, food and economics. His starting point is a comparison of the evolution of economic thought and British cuisine in recent times. He describes the latter as going through a culinary revolution. A bland and unhealthy ‘monoculture’ was invigorated by the arrival of diverse new foods (pizza!), peak-time television programmes devoted to cuisine, fusion cooking and the growth of interest in culinary history. Although one could argue with this view of British food (he overlooks the roles of domestic and farmhouse kitchens in keeping it subversively vibrant, for example), the point is a fair, if familiar, one. 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! Some parts of the book were fascinating because of historical context (eg. Mandated lime for English sailors to prevent scurvy) and debunking of myths (eg. Switzerland not actually being a post-industrial country). Some weren't as insightful — most probably because I was already aware of those theories and phenomena.

When Chang emigrated to the UK 36 years ago his Korean friends and parents were puzzled because it was “considered to be a country in decline”. Does he believe the same is true of Britain today? “Yes, but this is not the gentle decline of the 1970s and 1980s, the whole system is imploding. I don’t know if there will be a way out anytime soon because the country is too divided to forge a new model.” Unlike some – such as the former governor of the Bank of England Mark Carney – Chang does not blame Brexit for the UK’s malaise. “Brexit was a symptom, rather than a cause, people voted Leave because they’d had nearly a decade of economic stagnation and they wanted a way out,” he said. 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. This was a weird and wonderful little book! I honestly never thought I would enjoy a book on economics, but I found myself fascinated the whole way through. Ha-Joon Chang offers some unique perspectives on various economic theories, often presenting multiple differing opinions in the same chapter. He weaves together these theories and practices with tangible historical examples, all the while tying each one at least metaphorically to a food — such as the idea of chillies being representative of invisible labor or strawberries relating directly to the development of automation of the workforce. Chang does say upfront that this is what he’s going to do – that this isn’t a book about the economics of food per se, but a restatement of his core arguments, with culinary anecdotes functioning as treats to keep the reader interested. And they are, by and large, excellent anecdotes. Chang was born in Seoul in the 1960s and came to the UK to go to university in the 80s. So his life and career have encompassed not only the explosion of British food culture (he confirms, to an audience that might have forgotten, just how ghastly and bland things used to be), but also the development of South Korea, from a poor semi-industrialised state to the global economic and cultural powerhouse it is today. 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.

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It’ll help to have Econ 101 under your belt to appreciate this book, but it makes for fine foodie entertainment. This 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. Of course his conclusion says he hopes this book gives us deplorables an appreciation for the variety of economic viewpoints. This is just a cover that he can use when his real agenda is exposed.

I have devoted my entire academic career to the study of industrial policy. When I first started doing research on this as a graduate student in the late 1980s, industrial policy for many people was a four letter word—it was something that you didn’t mention in polite company. Today, a lot of countries that used to denounce industrial policy are now very keen to do it. The US is the best example, with the Green New Deal and reindustrialization momentum.

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For decades, a single free-market philosophy has dominated global economics. But this is bland and unhealthy—like British food in the 1980s, when best-selling 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. 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?

P 130: “ [re climate change, the government decides what you eat] “…changing our eating habits can have a big impact….I am not suggesting that we should totally give up on food variety, but those who live in rich countries should reduce their expectations for ‘on demand’ food.” This is particularly obnoxious because the author recounts throughout the book his international diet. 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.”Este libro es fascinante porque conjuga con eficacia la gastronomía, la historia , la geografía y la economía. 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. Over time I’ve become more and more convinced that in a capitalist economy, democracy is meaningless without everyone knowing some economics because so many decisions are bound up with it,” Chang explained when we met in Sushi Samba, a JapaneseSouth American restaurant, in central London. 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. As enjoyable as the culinary mentions were, their connection to economics didn't always work. The chapters were either a hit or a miss. But that doesn't take away from how engaging the book was. 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.

Edible Economics is a funny, thought-provoking book that often made me forget that I was reading about economics, which I’m sure was the point. I didn’t reach the end with a full understanding of even the most dominant economic theory – not even close – but Edible Economics has sparked in me an interest in a subject that I had previously found impenetrable, revealing it to be a much broader-ranging topic than I had believed. As the author explains, economics has a direct and enormous impact on our lives, so it’s ‘vital that we all understand at least some of its principles’. P130: “[more re climate change] “…we need to drive less in personal vehicles….” And government has to determine better living arrangements for us- so we can walk to stores or use public transportation. This is the same egomania that underlined Stalin and Mao’s collectivization drives that killed millions. Este es el cuarto libro que leo del economista coreano. Él lo califica de extraño, pero fascinante es el adjetivo que le hace mayor justicia.

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While I did find some of Chang’s opinions to be distinctly British — though born and raised in South Korea, Ha-Joon Chang attended university and now teaches in the UK — it was still easy to remind myself that this is a book of opinions as much as it is a book of fact. It’s not a textbook, but rather a unique economic overview from one individual’s perspective. I do appreciate the author’s evident extended effort to present ideas and concepts fairly, particularly multiple discussions of different versions and perspectives of the same theories, but the overarching author’s voice and bias is still ever-present. Fortunately, Ha-Joon Chang’s final recommendation to the reader is to understand that every perspective is just that: a perspective. Economics, though presented as firmly rooted in hard data and science, is just as much a matter of opinion as most things in this world. I would be lying if I said I didn't have passion for food. So when I saw this unusual premise of explaining economics through what we eat, I had to read it.