Edible Economics: A Hungry Economist Explains the World

Renowned economist Ha-Jun Chang invites you to the kitchen. The hospitable author loves to cook, and also appreciates diversity - both in tastes and aromas, and in theories and ideas. Therefore, the kitchen is a great place for experimenting with dishes and fascinating stories about the development of culinary approaches and economic concepts in different parts of the world over the centuries.

It's no secret that people's tastes differ. But we often do not realize how much. How do you like avocado for dessert? And in Brazil they eat it with sugar. How do you like sweetened tomatoes? And in South Korea they were considered a delicacy, like persimmons. Telling about the culinary preferences of different peoples, the author introduces us to the history of the invention of technologies and the formation of new institutions that changed the world. In particular, you will learn why the patent system first stimulated innovation and now has become an obstacle to progress, how Europeans' love for spices contributed to the emergence of joint-stock companies, and under what conditions transnational corporations create new industries in developing countries, or vice versa - turn them into "banana republics."