Ha-Joon Chang
Ha-Joon Chang
Ha-Joon Changis a South Korean institutional economist specialising in development economics. Currently a reader in the Political Economy of Development at the University of Cambridge, Chang is the author of several widely discussed policy books, most notably Kicking Away the Ladder: Development Strategy in Historical Perspective. Chang was ranked by Prospect magazine as one of the top 20 World Thinkers in 2013...
NationalitySouth Korean
ProfessionEconomist
Date of Birth7 October 1963
cut economists people quite tend until
People tend to think that numbers are quite objective, but numbers in economics are not like this. Some economists say they're like sausages: you don't know what they really are until you cut into them.
change distances enormity happened huge looks messages middle people realize telegraph tend
People always think they're in the middle of a revolution while they tend not to realize the enormity of a change that has happened in the past. The telegraph was a revolution, but who looks at it that way these days? The telegraph sped up the transportation of messages over long distances by a huge factor.
assess tend
When we assess the impact of technological changes, we tend to downplay things that happened a while ago.
arthur conan koreans
I used to joke that I came to England - not to the U.S. where most Koreans go - because I like Arthur Conan Doyle and Agatha Christie.
ahead created federal frontier government people private result sector technology
Many people think that the U.S. is ahead in the frontier technology sectors as a result of private sector entrepreneurship. It's not. The U.S. federal government created all these sectors.
allow came countries iran trade
Why do tax havens exist? Because rich countries allow them to. If the U.S. came down on tax havens in the same way they come down on countries that trade with Iran and Cuba, we'd have no tax havens in the world.
notion public supported therefore work
I think this notion that public enterprises do not work and therefore nationalization will be a disaster, I mean, it's not supported by evidence.
music
I like all kinds of music - classical, pop, rock, electronic.
art capacity crazy dukes economic exactly human imagine kings living miracle music none paintings sticks time
Imagine if all those kings and dukes hadn't commissioned those crazy cathedrals, paintings and music... we'd still be living in sticks and mud. Because none of those things made any economic sense. Human beings' capacity to 'waste time' is a miracle - but that's exactly what art is for.
countries few rich
Few countries have become rich through free-trade, free-market policies, and few ever will.
art message whatever
As a consumer, I don't create art, but I think whatever the message is, art has to touch you.
difficult educators engineers kinds national produce students study
Without there being some national strategy, it is difficult for educators to know what kinds of engineers or technicians to produce and for potential students to know what professions to study for.
according across causes feeling harms health highly insecurity job mental physical surprise value workers
The feeling of insecurity is inimical to our sense of wellbeing, as it causes anxiety and stress, which harms our physical and mental health. It is no surprise then that, according to some surveys, workers across the world value job security more highly than wages.
ban benefit complex crisis financial preventing serious shown simply society unless
If we are really serious about preventing another crisis like the 2008 meltdown, we should simply ban complex financial instruments unless they can be unambiguously shown to benefit society in the long run.