Ha-Joon Chang is 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.
He has served as a consultant to the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank,
the European Investment Bank, as well as to Oxfam and various United Nations
agencies. He is also a fellow at the Center for Economic and Policy Research
in Washington, D.C. In addition, Chang serves on the advisory board of
Academics Stand Against Poverty. Chang is also known for being an
important academic influence on the economist Rafael Correa, currently
President of Ecuador. Background
After graduating from Seoul National University Department of Economics, he
studied at the University of Cambridge, earning a PhD for his thesis entitled
The political economy of industrial policy - reflections on the role of
state intervention in 1991. Chang's contribution to heterodox economics
started while studying under Robert Rowthorn, a leading British Marxist
economist, with who he worked on the elaboration of the theory of industrial
policy, which he described as a middle way between central planning and
unrestrained free market. His work in this area is part of a broader approach
to economics known as institutionalist political economy which places economic
history and socio-political factors at the centre of the evolution of economic
practices. Writing
In his book Kicking Away the Ladder, Chang argued that all major developed
countries used interventionist economic policies in order to get rich and then
tried to forbid other countries from doing similarly. The World Trade
Organization, World Bank and International Monetary Fund come in for
strong criticism from Chang for "ladder-kicking" of this type which, he
argues, are the fundamental obstacle to poverty alleviation in the developing
world. This and other work led to his being awarded the 2005 Wassily Leontief
Prize for Advancing the Frontiers of Economic Thought from the Global
Development and Environment Institute. The book's methodology was criticized by
Douglas Irwin, Professor of Economics at Dartmouth College and author of a 2011
study of the Smoot-Hawley tariff, writing on the website of the Economic
History Association: Chang only looks at countries that
developed during the nineteenth century and a small number of the policies they
pursued. He did not examine countries that failed to develop in the nineteenth
century and see if they pursued the same heterodox policies only more
intensively. This is a poor scientific and historical method. Suppose a doctor
studied people with long lives and found that some smoked tobacco, but did not
study people with shorter lives to see if smoking was even more prevalent. Any
conclusions drawn only from the observed relationship would be quite misleading.
In contrast, Stanley Engerman, Professor of Economic History at Rochester
University praised Chang's approach: Ha-Joon Chang has examined a large body
of historical material to reach some very interesting and important
conclusions about institutions and economic development. Not only is the
historical picture re-examined, but Chang uses this to argue the need for a
changing attitude to the institutions desired in today's developing nations.
Both as historical reinterpretation and policy advocacy, "Kicking Away the
Ladder?" deserves a wide audience among economists, historians, and members of
the policy establishment. Following up on the ideas of Kicking
Away the Ladder, Chang published Bad Samaritans: The Myth of Free Trade and
the Secret History of Capitalism in December 2008. Chang countered Irwin's
criticisms by arguing that countries that had failed to develop had generally
followed free market policies. Chang also argued that while state
interventionism sometimes produced economic failures, it had a better
record than unregulated free market economies which, he maintained, very
rarely succeeded in producing economic development. He cited evidence that GDP
growth in developing countries had been higher prior to external pressures
recommending deregulation and extended his analysis to the failures of free
trade to induce growth through privatisation and anti-inflationary
policies. Chang's book won plaudits from Nobel Prize–winning economist Joseph
Stiglitz and developmental economist T.S Hueston for its fresh insight and
effective blend of contemporary and historical cases but was criticised by
former World Bank economist William Easterly, who said that Chang used
selective evidence in his book. Chang responded to Easterly's criticisms,
asserting that Easterly misread his argument. Easterly in turn provided a
counter-reply. Chang's next book was 23 Things They
Don't Tell You About Capitalism. Amongst many things, he claimed that "the
washing machine has changed society more than the Internet".
Chang's 2014 book, Economics: The User's Guide, is an introduction to economics,
accessibly written for the general public. It is the first title in
Penguin's revived new Pelican Books series.
Publications = Books=
The political economy of industrial policy
Intellectual property rights and economic development: historical lessons
and emerging issues Who benefits from the new international
intellectual property rights regime?: and what should Africa do?
Joseph Stiglitz and the World Bank: the rebel within
Kicking Away the Ladder: Development Strategy in Historical Perspective ISBN
978-1-84331-027-3 Globalization, Economic Development, and
the Role of the State ISBN 978-1-84277-143-3
Restructuring Korea Inc. ISBN 978-0-415-27865-2
Reclaiming development: an alternative economic policy manual
The Politics of Trade and Industrial Policy in Africa: Forced Consensus ISBN
978-1592211654 Gae-Hyuck Ui Dut, Bookie, Seoul, 2004
Kwe-Do Nan-Ma Hankook-Kyungje Bookie, Seoul, 2005 ISBN 978-89-85989-83-1
Bad Samaritans: The Myth of Free Trade and the Secret History of Capitalism
ISBN 978-1-59691-598-5 23 Things They Don't Tell You About
Capitalism ISBN 978-1-60819-166-6 Economics: The User's Guide ISBN
978-0718197032 = Papers and articles=
The East Asian development experience: the miracle, the crisis and the future
ISBN 978-1-84277-141-9 Economic History of the Developed World:
Lessons for Africa Economic History of the Developed World: Lessons for Africa
2009 Industrial Policy: Can Africa do it?
July 2012 Chang. Institutional Change and Economic
Development. Tokyo 2007. Kicking Away the Ladder: The "Real"
History of Free Trade, Ha-Joon Chang, Foreign Policy, 30 December 2003
Foreign Investment Regulation in Historical Perspective Lessons for the
Proposed WTO Investment Agreement, Ha-Joon Chang, Global Policy, March 2003
Why there is no such thing called a 'Free Market', Ha-Joon Chang, Truthout,
7 June 2011 See also
Capitalism Criticism of capitalism
Modern Monetary Theory References
External links Ha-Joon Chang official website
Profile at the University of Cambridge Column archive at The Guardian
Appearances on C-SPAN Ha-Joon Chang at the Internet Movie
Database Works by or about Ha-Joon Chang in
libraries Casey Lartigue, Jr.. "Chang Ha-Joon
Resource Center: Links and summaries of analysis from his critics". Center for
Free Enterprise. Interviews
"Why the World Isn't Flat" video of Ha-Joon Chang lecture for the New
America Foundation, 4 February 2008 Korea Society Podcast: Ha-Joon Chang
Discusses Bad Samaritans: The Myth of Free Trade and the Secret History of
Capitalism, 28 May 2008 "Economist Ha-Joon Chang on 'The Myth of
Free Trade and the Secret History of Capitalism'" Ha-Joon Chang interviewed
on Democracy Now!, 10 March 2009 Ha-Joon Chang on the G20 Summit,
Currency Wars and Why the Free Market is a "Myth" – video interview by Democracy
Now!, 12 November 2010 Ha-Joon Chang on RAI Economy portal