Ha-Joon Chang - Böcker

What is economics?What can - and can't - it explain about the world? Why does it matter?Ha-Joon Chang teaches economics at Cambridge University, and writes a column for the Guardian. The Observer called his book 23 Things They Don't Tell You About Capitalism, which was a no.1 bestseller, 'a witty and timely debunking of some of the biggest myths surrounding the global economy.' He won the Wassily Leontief Prize for advancing the frontiers of economic thought, and is a vocal critic of the failures of our current economic system.

It's rare that a book appears with a fresh perspective on world affairs, but renowned economist Ha-Joon Chang has some startlingly original things to say about the future of globalization. In theory, he argues, the world's wealthiest countries and supra-national institutions like the IMF, World Bank and WTO want to see all nations developing into modern industrial societies. In practice, though, those at the top are 'kicking away the ladder' to wealth that they themselves climbed. Why? Self-interest certainly plays a part. But, more often, rich and powerful governments and institutions are actually being 'Bad Samaritans': their intentions are worthy but their simplistic free-market ideology and poor understanding of history leads them to inflict policy errors on others. Chang demonstrates this by contrasting the route to success of economically vibrant countries with the very different route now being dictated to the world's poorer nations. In the course of this, he shows just how muddled the thinking is in such key areas as trade and foreign investment. He shows that the case for privatisation and against state involvement is far from proven. And he explores the ways in which attitudes to national cultures and political ideologies are obscuring clear thinking and creating bad policy. Finally, he argues the case for new strategies for a more prosperous world that may appall the 'Bad Samaritans'.

Ha-Joon Chang's 23 Things They Don't Tell You About Capitalism turns received economic wisdom on its head to show you how the world really works. In this revelatory book, Ha-Joon Chang destroys the biggest myths of our times and shows us an alternative view of the world, including: There's no such thing as a 'free' marketGlobalization isn't making the world richerWe don't live in a digital world - the washing machine has changed lives more than the internetPoor countries are more entrepreneurial than rich onesHigher paid managers don't produce better resultsWe don't have to accept things as they are any longer. Ha-Joon Chang is here to show us there's a better way. 'Lively, accessible and provocative ... read this book' - Sunday Times'A witty and timely debunking of some of the biggest myths surrounding the global economy' - Observer'The new kid on the economics block ... Chang's iconoclastic attitude has won him fans' - Independent on Sunday'Lucid ... audacious ... increasingly influential ... will provoke physical symptoms of revulsion if you are in any way involved in high finance' - Guardian'Important ... persuasive ... an engaging case for a more caring era of globalization' - Financial Times'A must-read ... incisive and entertaining' - New Statesman Books of the YearHa-Joon Chang is a Reader in the Political Economy of Development at the University of Cambridge. He is author of Kicking Away the Ladder: Development Strategy in Historical Perspective, which won the 2003 Gunnar Myrdal Prize, and Bad Samaritans: Rich Nations, Poor Policies and the Threat to the Developing World. Since the beginning of the 2008 economic crisis, he has been a regular contributor to the Guardian, and a vocal critic of the failures of our economic system.

RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEK Economic thinking - about globalisation, climate change, immigration, austerity, automation and much more - in its most digestible formFor 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.

The role of the state has occupied centre stage in the development of economics as an independent discipline and is one of the most contentious issues addressed by contemporary economists and political economists. The immediate post-war years saw a swing in economic theory towards interventionism, motivated by the urgent need for reconstruction in advanced capitalist countries, the establishment of socialism in parts of Asia and Eastern Europe, and the liberation of many developing nations from colonialism.After a quarter of a century of interventionist policies, a vigourous backlash against state intervention began with the discrediting of welfare statism in advanced capitalist countries, grew through the spread of liberalisation programmes among developing nations during the 1980s, and culminated in the dismantling of socialist central planning since 1989.In this volume, ten distinguished contributors examine patterns of interventionism and anit-interventionism in a wide variety of historical, political and institutional contexts and within different theoretical traditions. Their primary focus is on the internal factors which shape the role of the state and determine its effectiveness in promoting economic change. They explain the growing disenchantment with the Neo-Liberal, anti-interventionist programme--even in Eastern Europe and the former USSR, where the initial optimism in the efficacy of the free market is fading fast.The overall conclusion of the empirical and theoretical analysis is that the simplistic notion of politics fundamental to Neo-Liberal arguments makes them at best misleading and at worst deceitful. Although one can talk of certain general principles, there is no hard and fast rule to determine the optimal degree and the desirable areas of state intervention, which can only be determined in the concrete historical, institutional, and geographical context. The challenge is to form a new synthesis in which the valid insights of Neo-Liberalism are stripped of their ideological baggage and intergrated into a wider and more objective intellectual framework.

Industrial policy has long been regarded as a strategy to encourage sector-, industry-, or economy-wide development by the state. It has been central to competitiveness, catching up, and structural change in both advanced and developing countries. It has also been one of the most contested perspectives, reflecting ideologically inflected debates and shifts in prevailing ideas. There has lately been a renewed interest in industrial policy in academic circles and international policy dialogues, prompted by the weak outcomes of policies pursued by many developing countries under the direction of the Washington Consensus (and its descendants), the slow economic recovery of many advanced economies after the 2008 global financial crisis, and mounting anxieties about the national consequences of globalization. The Oxford Handbook of Industrial Policy presents a comprehensive review of and a novel approach to the conceptual and theoretical foundations of industrial policy. The Handbook also presents analytical perspectives on how industrial policy connects to broader issues of development strategy, macro-economic policies, infrastructure development, human capital, and political economy. By combining historical and theoretical perspectives, and integrating conceptual issues with empirical evidence drawn from advanced, emerging, and developing countries, The Handbook offers valuable lessons and policy insights to policymakers, practitioners and researchers on developing productive transformation, technological capabilities, and international competitiveness. It addresses pressing issues including climate change, the gendered dimensions of industrial policy, global governance, and technical change.Written by leading international thinkers on the subject, the volume pulls together different perspectives and schools of thought from neo-classical to structuralist development economists to discuss and highlight the adaptation of industrial policy in an ever-changing socio-economic and political landscape.

The 1997 South Korean financial crisis not only shook the country itself but also sent shock waves through the financial world at large. This impressive book critically assesses the conventional wisdom surrounding the Korean crisis and the performance of the IMF-sponsored reform programme.Looking first at the strengths and weaknesses of 'Korea Inc.' in comparison with other East Asian countries, the authors describe the challenges faced by Korea in the 1990s due to the acceleration of globalization. By arguing that the transition attempted by Korea was badly conceived and ill designed, Restructuring 'Korea Inc.' focuses on corporate reform after the crisis that has led to the running up of huge 'transition costs'.This snappy, informative and readable book has a broad historical overview and with its suggestions for structural change for Korea. This book is an important contribution not only to Asian studies, but also to the study of financial crises and the political economy of economic reform.

This book critically re-examines the currently dominant paradigm of agricultural development policy from historical and comparative perspectives. Examining the experiences of 11 developed countries in their earlier stages of development and the experiences of 10 developing and transition economies in the last half a century, the book offers an in-depth discussion on a range of public policies for agriculture, some currently in use and others forgotten in the mist of history.After presenting the overarching theoretical framework and a synthesis of findings over the 21 countries examined, the book presents six detailed case studies of agricultural policy in the last half a century in two Latin American countries (Chile and Mexico), two African countries (Ethiopia and Ghana), and two Asian countries (India and Vietnam). Each chapter examines a wide range of policies, including land policy (land tenure reform and land quality improvement), knowledge policy (research, extension, education, and information), credit policy (specialized banks and agricultural credit co-operatives), physical inputs policy (irrigation, transport, electricity, and divisible inputs such as fertilizers, seeds, and farm machinery), policies intended to increase farm income stability (price stabilization measures, insurances, and trade protection), and policies intended to improve agricultural marketing and processing.Through its historical and comparative approaches, the book frees our "policy imagination" by showing that the range of policies and institutions that have produced positive outcomes for agricultural development has been much wider than any particular ideological position – be it the pre-1980s statist one or the pro-market NCW – would admit. It also shows that the willingness to experiment with new policies and institutions, and the willingness to learn from other countries’ successes and improve upon their solutions, were important in all agricultural success stories.

This book critically re-examines the currently dominant paradigm of agricultural development policy from historical and comparative perspectives. Examining the experiences of 11 developed countries in their earlier stages of development and the experiences of 10 developing and transition economies in the last half a century, the book offers an in-depth discussion on a range of public policies for agriculture, some currently in use and others forgotten in the mist of history.After presenting the overarching theoretical framework and a synthesis of findings over the 21 countries examined, the book presents six detailed case studies of agricultural policy in the last half a century in two Latin American countries (Chile and Mexico), two African countries (Ethiopia and Ghana), and two Asian countries (India and Vietnam). Each chapter examines a wide range of policies, including land policy (land tenure reform and land quality improvement), knowledge policy (research, extension, education, and information), credit policy (specialized banks and agricultural credit co-operatives), physical inputs policy (irrigation, transport, electricity, and divisible inputs such as fertilizers, seeds, and farm machinery), policies intended to increase farm income stability (price stabilization measures, insurances, and trade protection), and policies intended to improve agricultural marketing and processing.Through its historical and comparative approaches, the book frees our "policy imagination" by showing that the range of policies and institutions that have produced positive outcomes for agricultural development has been much wider than any particular ideological position – be it the pre-1980s statist one or the pro-market NCW – would admit. It also shows that the willingness to experiment with new policies and institutions, and the willingness to learn from other countries’ successes and improve upon their solutions, were important in all agricultural success stories.

This book represents the first systematic attempt to try to explain the dramatic contrast in outcome between reforming countries that have pursued comprehensive system reform and those that have pursued cautious, experimental strategies.

This title begins from the standpoint that new thinking is needed if South Africa is to generate sustainable economic growth, provide employment and decent work and promote rural development. As comparisons with other developing economies, particularly South Korea and Brazil, show, it is possible for the so-called developmental state to direct and plan economic activity and achieve developmental objectives. At the same time the title warns about the perverse impacts of black economic empowerment, particularly the growth of a rentier class of well-connected entrepreneurs.

There is no alternative to neoliberal economics - or so it appeared when Reclaiming Development was published in 2004. Many of the same driving assumptions - monetarism and globalization - remain within the international development policy establishment. Ha-Joon Chang and Ilene Grabel confront this neoliberal development model head-on by combining devastating economic critique with an array of innovative policies and an in-depth analysis of the experiences of leading Western and East Asian economies.Still, much has changed since 2004 - the relative success of some developing countries in weathering the global financial crisis has exposed the latent contradictions of the neoliberal model. The resulting situation of increasingly open policy innovation in the global South means that Reclaiming Development is even more relevant today than when it was first published. History is being made.

The rise of the institutionalist and evolutionary approaches in economics has posed a serious intellectual challenge to the dominant neo-classical paradigm. This book draws together leading scholars in the fields of institutional and evolutionary economics who apply cutting-edge research to one of the most controversial issues of our day, namely, the role of the state.The authors offer a sound methodological guide to the research in this fast-evolving area of economics. They provide a firm theoretical foundation for the role of the state and review the history of policy making. They also use country studies to reinforce their approach, including the role of the state in the Asian Crisis, the current debate on state reform in Japan, public administration in Central and Eastern Europe and the practice of state reform in Brazil. This book will inspire readers to reassess their views on the role of the state and state reform.

The role of the state in the economy has always been a controversial issue in public debate, but it has become more so in the last quarter of a century with the rise of neoliberal thinking that preaches the virtues of unregulated markets and recommends de-regulation, opening-up, and privatisation. This push for a minimal, pro-business state, especially in developing countries, has been further intensified with both the rise of globalisation and the many radical neoliberal 'reforms' implemented, often under pressure from multilateral agencies (such as the IMF, the World Bank, and the WTO). In this book, the author highlights the failure of neoliberalism, especially in developing countries, or what he terms 'the intellectual bankruptcy of neoliberalism', which, he believes, 'stems ultimately from its failure to base its discourse on a balanced and sophisticated theory of the inter-relationship between the market, the state, and other institutions'. He also tries to construct a credible alternative theoretical framework to neoliberalism, informed by a balanced understanding of empirical evidence. The issues covered concern a rather wide range of domestic and international policy issues - including trade policy, privatisation, transnational corporations, and intellectual property rights.

How did the rich countries really become rich?  In this provocative study, Ha-Joon Chang examines the great pressure on developing countries from the developed world to adopt certain 'good policies' and 'good institutions', seen today as necessary for economic development. His conclusions are compelling and disturbing: that developed countries are attempting to 'kick away the ladder' with which they have climbed to the top, thereby preventing developing countries from adopting policies and institutions that they themselves have used.

This book addresses key issues in development economics, from macroeconomics, finance and governance to trade, industry, agriculture and poverty. Bringing together some of the foremost names in the field, this comprehensive and timely collection constitutes a critical staging post in the future of development economics.

‘Institutional Change and Economic Development’ discusses not just theoretical issues but a diverse range of real-life institutions – political, bureaucratic, fiscal, financial, corporate, legal, social and industrial – in the context of dozens of countries across time and space, spanning Britain, Switzerland and the USA in the past to Botswana, Brazil, and China today.

In controversial speeches made around the world, Stiglitz has undone the conventional wisdom that dominated policy-making at the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the US Treasury Department. For the first time, Stiglitz's nine most revealing speeches have been gathered together, covering such topics as the failure of shock therapy and transition economics, the limits of capital market liberalization, the myopia of the Washington consensus, the role of knowledge in markets, the process of developing market institutions and the primacy of openness and worker participation. A landmark collection of material for economists everywhere.

In controversial speeches made around the world, Stiglitz has undone the conventional wisdom that dominated policy-making at the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the US Treasury Department. For the first time, Stiglitz's nine most revealing speeches have been gathered together, covering such topics as the failure of shock therapy and transition economics, the limits of capital market liberalization, the myopia of the Washington consensus, the role of knowledge in markets, the process of developing market institutions and the primacy of openness and worker participation. A landmark collection of material for economists everywhere.

A rising young star in the field of economics attacks the free-trade orthodoxy of The World Is Flat head-on a crisp, contrarian history of global capitalism. One economist has called Ha-Joon Chang "the most exciting thinker our profession has turned out in the past fifteen years." With Bad Samaritans, this provocative scholar bursts into the debate on globalization and economic justice.

2008 års finansiella härdsmälta är resultatet av den frimarknadsideologi som har styrt världen sedan 1980-talet. Vi har fått höra att om marknaderna lämnas ifred kommer de att producera det effektivaste och de mest rättvisa resultaten. Vi har fått veta att företagen bör ges maximal frihet. Företagen vet vad som är bäst för dem eftersom de känner marknaden. Om vi låter dem göra vad de vill kommer hela samhällets välstånd att maximeras. Frimarknadsekonomerna säger att vi ska hysa full tillit till marknaden och inte lägga oss i vad den gör. De flesta länder har följt detta råd och infört frimarknadspolitik under de senaste tre decennierna privatisering av statliga industriföretag och av finansiella företag, avreglering av finans- och industrisektorerna, liberalisering av internationell handel och investeringar samt sänkning av inkomstskatter och socialbidrag. Förespråkarna för denna politik medgav att den tillfälligtvis skapar vissa problem, som ökande ojämlikhet, men i slutänden kommer den att medföra att alla får det bättre genom att skapa ett mer dynamiskt och rikare samhälle. Man sa att det stigande tidvattnet lyfter alla båtar. Resultatet av denna politik har varit raka motsatsen till vad som utlovades. Den här boken är inte ett anti-kapitalistisk manifest. Att kritisera den fria marknadsideologin är inte detsamma som att vara motståndare till kapitalism. Trots sina problem och begränsningar anser författaren att kapitalismen fortfarande är det bästa ekonomiska system som mänskligheten har uppfunnit. Hans kritik är riktad mot en speciell variant av kapitalism vilken har kommit att dominera världen under de senaste tre decennierna, det vill säga frimarknadskapitalism. Detta är inte det enda sättet att bedriva kapitalism, och absolut inte det bästa, vilket de senaste tre decenniernas utfall visar. Boken visar på ett tillgängligt och roande vis med många exempel att det finns bättre sätt på vilka kapitalism kan och bör bedrivas.