2020年经济学人 政府和市场(2)

Few measures are as unpopular with the profession, which sees prices as both a signal of scarcity¹ and a spur to overcome it.

很少有措施像这个行业那样不受欢迎，这个行业认为价格既是稀缺的信号，又是克服稀缺的激励。

Controlling them scrambles² the signal and blunts the spur. Price floors result in food rotting in warehouses³.

管制它们会扰乱信号，削弱刺激。最低价格导致食品在仓库中腐烂。

Ceilings lead to underinvestment, hoarding⁴ and black markets.

限额会导致投资不足、囤积和黑市交易。

Efforts to stabilise prices at home can increase volatility⁵ abroad. Export bans, for example, force farmers to sell domestically, worsening global shortages.

国内稳定物价的努力可能会加剧国外的波动。例如，出口禁令迫使农民在国内出售粮食，加剧了全球粮食短缺。

The World Bank reckons that governments' attempts to insulate their countries

世界银行估计，在2010到2011年，政府试图使他们的国家

from higher food prices accounted for 40% of the increase in world wheat prices in 2010-11.

不受更高的食品价格的影响，这占了世界小麦价格上涨原因的40%。

One reason not to impose price controls is that they are so hard to remove.

不实施价格管制的一个原因是，价格管制很难取消。

"We struggled to find an example where it has gone very smoothly,"

世行《全球经济展望》报告的主要作者之一表示：“

says Franziska Ohnsorge, a lead author of the bank's "Global Economic Prospects⁶" report.

我们很难找到一个进展非常顺利的例子。”

A fare increase last year on Santiago's metro⁷ of 30 pesos ($0.04) was the trigger for widespread unrest

去年圣地亚哥地铁票价上涨了30比索（0.04美元），

that brought Chile's army onto the streets and resulted in 29 deaths.

引发了广泛的动乱，智利军队走上街头，造成29人死亡。

When removing price controls, it helps to get the timing⁸ right. With ceilings, it is best to act when market prices are low.

当取消价格管制时，它有助于把握正确的时机。有了上限，最好在市场价格较低时采取行动。

Ivory Coast, Mexico and Rwanda took advantage of the oil-price slump⁹ after 2014 to reduce their fuel subsidies¹⁰.

科特迪瓦、墨西哥和卢旺达利用2014年后油价下跌的机会减少了燃料补贴。

The bank also recommends linking the removal of price controls with offsetting¹¹ measures to help the needy¹².

世行还建议将取消价格管制和抵消措施联系起来以帮助需要的人。

Egypt, for example, increased spending on health and education after raising prices for gas, petrol and electricity.

例如，埃及在提高燃气、石油和电力价格后，增加健康和教育上的支出。

But not everyone was appeased¹³. Many people who know that higher prices will hurt them doubt that higher social spending will ever help them.

但并不是每一人都满意。很多知道更高价格会伤害到自己的人不相信高社会支出会帮助他们。

In 2010 Iran tried to overcome such scepticism by giving money to households to compensate¹⁴ them for a reduction in fuel subsidies.

2010年，伊朗试图通过向家庭提供资金以补偿燃料补贴的减少来克服这种怀疑。

In an ingenious twist, it paid the transfers first, depositing the money in accounts that were locked until prices were lifted.

一个巧妙的转变是，它首先支付转账，将钱存入锁定的账户，直到价格上涨。

It is a lesson other countries should heed¹⁵, argues Shanta Devarajan, a former World Bank economist¹⁶.

前世银经济学家Shanta Devarajan认为这是其他国家应该吸取的教训。

Unfortunately, Iran itself seems to have forgotten it. In November it raised fuel prices sharply and suddenly.

不幸的是，似乎伊朗自己已经忘了。在11月，其突然大幅提高了燃料价格。

Protesters poured onto the streets. "It's very difficult to remove these controls," says Ms Ohnsorge. "It's better not to have them in the first place."

抗议者涌上街头。Ohnsorge女士称，“取消这些控制非常困难”。“最好是一开始就不要进行价格管制。”

1 scarcity   

n.缺乏，不足，萧条

参考例句：

• The scarcity of skilled workers is worrying the government.熟练工人的缺乏困扰着政府。
• The scarcity of fruit was caused by the drought.水果供不应求是由于干旱造成的。

2 scrambles   

n.抢夺( scramble的名词复数 )v.快速爬行( scramble的第三人称单数 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞

参考例句：

• The breaking of symmetry scrambles the underlying order of nature. 对称性的破坏会打乱自然界的根本秩序。 来自互联网
• The move comes as Japan scrambles for ways to persuade women to have more babies. 这一行动的出现正值日本政府想尽各种办法鼓励妇女多生育孩子。 来自互联网

3 warehouses   

仓库，货栈( warehouse的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The whisky was taken to bonded warehouses at Port Dundee. 威士忌酒已送到邓迪港的保稅仓库。
• Row upon row of newly built warehouses line the waterfront. 江岸新建的仓库鳞次栉比。

4 hoarding   

n.贮藏；积蓄；临时围墙；囤积v.积蓄并储藏（某物）( hoard的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• After the war, they were shot for hoarding. 战后他们因囤积而被枪决。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Actually he had two unused ones which he was hoarding up. 其实他还藏了两片没有用呢。 来自英汉文学

5 volatility   

n.挥发性，挥发度，轻快，（性格）反复无常

参考例句：

• That was one reason why volatility was so low last year.这也是去年波动性如此低的原因之一。
• Yet because volatility remained low for so long,disaster myopia prevailed.然而，由于相当长的时间里波动性小，灾难短视就获胜了。

6 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。

7 metro   

n.地铁；adj.大都市的；(METRO)麦德隆(财富500强公司之一总部所在地德国，主要经营零售)

参考例句：

• Can you reach the park by metro?你可以乘地铁到达那个公园吗？
• The metro flood gate system is a disaster prevention equipment.地铁防淹门系统是一种防灾设备。

8 timing   

n.时间安排，时间选择

参考例句：

• The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。

9 slump   

n.暴跌，意气消沉，（土地）下沉；vi.猛然掉落，坍塌，大幅度下跌

参考例句：

• She is in a slump in her career.她处在事业的低谷。
• Economists are forecasting a slump.经济学家们预言将发生经济衰退。

10 subsidies   

n.补贴，津贴，补助金( subsidy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• European agriculture ministers failed to break the deadlock over farm subsidies. 欧洲各国农业部长在农业补贴问题上未能打破僵局。
• Agricultural subsidies absorb about half the EU's income. 农业补贴占去了欧盟收入的大约一半。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 offsetting   

n.偏置法v.抵消( offset的现在分词 )；补偿；（为了比较的目的而）把…并列（或并置）；为（管道等）装支管

参考例句：

• Dealers, having concluded a forward contract, should always hedge with an offsetting contract. 外汇经营商在签订了一项远期合同之后总是应进行套头交易签订一项相抵合同。 来自辞典例句
• Where does Germany think offsetting shifts into greater external deficits might occur? 在德国看来，这么大的外部赤字应该转移到哪里？ 来自互联网

12 needy   

adj.贫穷的，贫困的，生活艰苦的

参考例句：

• Although he was poor,he was quite generous to his needy friends.他虽穷，但对贫苦的朋友很慷慨。
• They awarded scholarships to needy students.他们给贫苦学生颁发奖学金。

13 appeased   

安抚，抚慰( appease的过去式和过去分词 )； 绥靖（满足另一国的要求以避免战争）

参考例句：

• His hunger could only be appeased by his wife. 他的欲望只有他的妻子能满足。
• They are the more readily appeased. 他们比较容易和解。

14 compensate   

vt.补偿，赔偿；酬报 vi.弥补；补偿；抵消

参考例句：

• She used her good looks to compensate her lack of intelligence. 她利用她漂亮的外表来弥补智力的不足。
• Nothing can compensate for the loss of one's health. 一个人失去了键康是不可弥补的。

15 heed   

v.注意，留意；n.注意，留心

参考例句：

• You must take heed of what he has told.你要注意他所告诉的事。
• For the first time he had to pay heed to his appearance.这是他第一次非得注意自己的外表不可了。

16 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。