Edible Economics: A Hungry Economist Explains the World

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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. Curried clam broth leads into consideration of the spice trade, and then to the Dutch East India Company, and then to limited liability companies in general, and to suggestions about how the reform of corporate governance might make it possible to sustain long-term investments in green technology.

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. It was a novel way to talk about some economics concepts which was frequently entertaining but it wasn't a perfect blend.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. There are a few awkward transitions and pacing issues but nothing severe enough to overcome the good.

This is the same egomania that underlined Stalin and Mao’s collectivization drives that killed millions. Each chapter in this relatively quick read starts off with a description (often personal) of a food item, such as garlic or anchovies, before building an unexpected but interesting linkage to some economic concept. P111: “[re education] In other words, equality of opportunity is not enough; we need a relatively high degree of outcome. Książka stosunkowo krótka z 200 stron czyta się bardzo szybko można będąc zdeterminowanym skończyć w jeden wieczór. 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.In ‘Edible Economics’, Chang makes challenging economic ideas more palatable by plating them alongside stories about food from around the world. P132 “…consumers do not have the time and mental capacity to process all the information on the carbon footprints of their food items…. Ha-Joon Chang has been working hard at providing an alternative to neoliberalism for two decades now, ever since his book Kicking Away the Ladder pointed out that low taxes, free trade and deregulation simply wasn’t the way that most rich countries had developed.