Episode 253: Ha Joon Chang

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The Problem with Economic Orthodoxy

Food is much better and more interesting when it combines many cuisines. So too is economics more fruitful when it sources from different schools. While many countries have seen their diets expand, the profession of economics increasingly relies on “monocropping”, drawing only from the neo-classical school. 

In his latest book, Edible Economics, economist Ha Joon Chang uses the ever changing food culture to help readers understand how economic theories are also constantly evolving and merging. In this episode of unSILOed, Chang and Greg discuss Chang’s new ideas around economic theories and how food can guide us into that new way of thinking. 

Ha Joon Chang is an economist based at the University of London. He’s also taught at The University of Cambridge. He is the author of 17 economics books.

Episode Quotes:

The effect of free trade in the long run

42:46: Free trade is good actually in the short run for everyone. Trouble is that if you keep doing free trade, the economically backward countries will be basically stuck where they are. So, you need different medicines for different people. But since most economists these days believe that there's only one correct policy for everyone, they keep giving the wrong medicine.

Is economics the supreme logic?

06:38: By saying that economics is the supreme logic, we are actually forcing all these other things to be secondary to the calculations of the profit, the prices, and so on. And I don't think that's a healthy thing.

We cannot have economics the same way with physics & chemistry

13:54: The world is too complex and too uncertain, and human beings are so unpredictable that we cannot have economics that is scientific in the same way that physics or chemistry are. Just think about it. Subatomic particles do not say, “According to the theory, I’m supposed to behave this way.” I’m not going to do that because it’s unethical. Chemical molecules do not say, “Well, we always have been moving this way, but wouldn’t the world be a better place if we went the other way?” You know, that’s what humans do.

What can we learn from rich countries about good economic development?

31:25: In the last 40 years, the prevailing view has been that pre-trade, deregulated markets, and the prevalence of private ownership are things that are good for economic development. When you look at the history of today's rich countries, you find that they use almost the exact opposite of what they're recommending.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

• Joseph Schumpeter

• Thorstein Veblen

• John R. Commons

• Wesley Clair Mitchell

• Report to Congress on The Subject of on The Subject of Manufactures by Alexander Hamilton

• Charles P. Kindleberger

• Friedrich List

Guest Profile:

• Faculty Profile at University of London

• Professional Profile on Center for Economic Policy and Research

• Professional Profile on The Guardian

• Ha-Joon Chang’s Website

His Work:

• Ha-Joon Chang on Google Scholar

• Edible Economics: A Hungry Economist Explains The World

• Economics: The User’s Guide

• Reclaiming Development: An Alternative Economic Policy Manual (Critique Influence Change) 

• 23 Things They Don’t Tell You About Capitalism

• Bad Samaritans: The Myth of Free Trade and the Secret History of Capitalism

• The East Asian Development Experience: The Miracle, the Crisis and the Future

• Reclaiming Development: An Alternative Economic Policy Manual (Global Issues) 

• Globalisation, Economic Development & the Role of the State 

• Restructuring 'Korea Inc.': Financial Crisis, Corporate Reform, and Institutional Transition (Routledge Studies in the Growth Economies of Asia)

• Kicking Away The Ladder: Development Strategy in Historical Perspective