In Edible Economics, Ha-Joon Chang is inspired by his passion for food to reflect on why economics matters - or, as he puts it, “a hungry economist explains the world”.

Over five episodes he zooms in on garlic, bananas, okra, rye and chocolate, using the histories behind familiar foods - where they come from, how they are cooked and consumed, what they mean to different cultures - to explore economic theories. Witty and thought-provoking, Professor Chang sets out to challenge ideas about the free-market economy which he believes have been too easily accepted for decades.

In this first episode, the focus is on garlic.

“We Koreans don’t just eat garlic. We process it. In industrial quantities. We are garlic. South Koreans go through a staggering 7.5 kg of garlic per person a year – twelve times what the Italians consume. If you have lived all your life among garlic monsters, you don’t realise how much garlic you get through. That was me in late July 1986 when, aged twenty-two, I boarded a flight to start my graduate studies in the University of Cambridge…”

Coming to the UK for the first time, “garlic monster” Ha-Joon is shocked to discover the blandness of English food. But Britain in the 80s was on the cusp of a culinary revolution, opening up to many other food cultures. In Professor Chang’s own field of economics, however, he says that the discipline has become increasingly narrow. There is too little debate, he claims, and this really matters because economics doesn’t just affect government policies and our own individual economic situation:

“It changes who we are. Economics creates ideas. It affects what people see as normal, how people view each other, and what behaviour people exhibit to fit in. So an economic theory that believes humans to be almost exclusively driven by self-interest will create a society where cooperation is more difficult.”

Professor Ha-Joon Chang teaches economics at SOAS University of London, and is one of the world's leading economists. His books include Economics: The User's Guide, Bad Samaritans and 23 Things They Don't Tell You About Capitalism.

Reader Arthur Lee is a British actor of Korean descent who made his international debut on HBO Cinemax’s Strike Back in 2015 and who recently appeared in Doctor Who. Arthur grew up mostly in London, but also spent several years in South Korea advancing his knowledge of Korean language and culture.

Abridged and produced by Elizabeth Burke
Executive Producer: Jo Rowntree
A Loftus Media production for BBC Radio 4 Show less