Economics: The User's Guide

Author: Ha-Joon Chang

Genres: Subject-Led non-fiction

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.

“You could use it as a primer, a reference book, a brief history; it is all these things, but isn't contained by them. It reflects the urgent generosity of a thinker whose depth of understanding is matched by a desire to see us all understand. Ha-Joon Chang is himself the walking disproof of the neoclassical individual, the perfectly rational, perfectly selfish consumer; his wealth is in his knowledge, perceptiveness, insight and vision. And he can't give it away fast enough. It flies off him like the seeds of a dandelion.”
- The Guardian

“Brilliant... Chang’s lightness of touch makes often dry subject matter very readable. The 2008 crash is mentioned again and again, to prove Chang’s point that the experts don’t always know best”
- John Sunyer, Financial Times

“Economics for the 99 percent who don’t know moral hazard from opportunity cost: lively, intelligent and readily accessible.”
- Kirkus

“Chang writes with enough depth to provide insights for experts and enough breadth to reach the further shores of the discipline for the interested layman.”
- New Statesman