Edible Economics

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Economic thinking on climate change, immigration, austerity, and automation is presented in an accessible manner. For decades, a single free market philosophy has dominated global economics, akin to the blandness of British food in the 1980s, when bestselling author and Cambridge economist Ha-Joon Chang first arrived in the UK from South Korea. Just as a diverse diet is crucial for health, so is listening to a variety of economic perspectives. Chang makes complex economic ideas more digestible by pairing them with food anecdotes from around the globe. Each chapter begins with a menu, using stories about key ingredients—where they come from, how they are prepared, and their cultural significance—to delve into economic theory. For instance, strawberries symbolize a jobless future, while chocolate offers insights into post-industrial economies. Chang explains concepts like the hidden costs of care work and the misleading language of the free market while preparing dishes like anchovy and egg toast, Gambas al Ajillo, and Korean dotori mook. Witty and thought-provoking, this work illustrates that understanding the economy is akin to learning a recipe: with comprehension, we can change it and, in turn, the world.