Ha-Joon Chang Keynote Speaker

Ha-Joon Chang is a distinguished economist, research professor and bestselling author, specialising in development economics, industrial policy, institutional economics, and political economy.

Formerly an economics professor at the University of Cambridge for 32 years, Chang now teaches at the SOAS University of London.

Chang has written numerous journal articles and book chapters that covers a wide range of subjects including the theories of the state, institutional economics, privatisation, industrial policy, and the East Asian development experience. He has also published 17 authored books (five co-authored) and 11 edited books (seven co-edited).

His publications have enjoyed extensive commercial and academic success, with Kicking Away the Ladder (2002) winning the Gunnar Myrdal Prize in 2003. The book was highly lauded by Joseph Stiglitz, Nobel Prize winning economist, for its fresh insight and effective blend of contemporary and historical cases.

Other books include Economics: The User’s Guide (2014), Bad Samaritans (2009) and 23 Things They Don’t Tell You About Capitalism (2012), an international no. 1 bestseller. His latest book, Edible Economics – A Hungry Economist Explains the World (2022), uses diverse histories behind familiar food items to explore economic theories. Chang’s writings have been translated and published in 45 languages and 46 countries. His books have also sold over 2 million copies worldwide.

As a leading economist, Ha-Joon Chang has advised numerous international organisations, national governments, civil society organisations, and corporations in the private and public sectors. Some of the notable organisations Chang has served as a consultant for include various UN agencies, the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the European Investment Bank, and Oxfam.

He is currently a member of the Committee for Development Policy (CDP), the highest advisory body of the United Nations on development issues.

Chang is a winner of the 2005 Wassily Leontief Prize, which recognises outstanding contributions to economic theories that address contemporary realities and support just and sustainable societies. The winners of the prize include Amartya Sen, John Kenneth Galbraith, Albert Hirschman, and Angus Deaton. Prospect Magazine also ranked Chang number nine in their World Thinkers 2014 poll.

Ha-Joon Chang graduated in Economics from Seoul National University before earning his MPhil and PhD at the University of Cambridge. He currently resides in London with his wife.