Ha-Joon Chang

Ha-Joon Chang (born 7 October 1963) 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(2002). In 2013 Prospect magazine ranked Chang as one of the top 20 World Thinkers.

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 (ASAP).

Chang is also known for being an important academic influence on the economist Rafael Correa, the former President of Ecuador.