2020年经济学人 非洲货币(2)

Commodity exports and aid inflows raise demand for local currencies, making them stronger.

大宗商品出口和援助流入增加了对本币的需求，使本币更加强势。

Governments fear depreciation¹ because they depend on imported capital to finance infrastructure² projects;

各国政府担心货币贬值，因为他们依赖进口资本为基础设施项目融资；

a weak currency forces them to raise more revenue to pay back foreign debts.

疲软的货币迫使他们筹集更多的收入来偿还外债。

Depreciation also pushes up the cost of imported goods, including food, medicine and fuel.

贬值还推高了进口商品的成本，包括食品、药品和燃料。

Those are mostly consumed by city folk, who are more prone³ to protest than those in the countryside.

这些都是城市居民消费的，他们比住在乡下的人更倾向于抗议。

Inflation hits industry, too.

通货膨胀也打击了工业。

Nigerian firms buy much of their machinery⁴ and inputs⁵ from abroad and so are hurt by higher import prices,

尼日利亚公司从国外购买大量的机械设备和原材料，因此受到进口价格上涨的影响，

says Segun Ajayi-Kadir, the director-general of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria.

尼日利亚制造商协会的总干事Segun Ajayi-Kadir说到。

Ethiopian factories import about half of their raw materials. Garment firms ship in fabric⁶; shoemakers, leather.

埃塞俄比亚的工厂大约一半的原材料是进口的。服装公司从海外采购织物；制鞋厂采购皮革。

Left unchecked, inflation erodes⁷ any boost to exports. Consider a 10% depreciation in the "nominal⁸" exchange rate—

如果不加以抑制，通胀就会侵蚀对出口的提振。考虑在“名义”汇率上贬值10%——

that is, the rate advertised in newspapers or at a bureau de change.

即新闻刊登的或外币兑换所的汇率。

If domestic prices also rise by about 10% then there is no change in the "real" exchange rate,

如果国内价格也上涨约10%，那么衡量国内和

which measures relative prices of domestic and foreign goods, and that is what counts.

国外商品相对价格的“实际”汇率就没有变化，这才是关键。

In practice prices rarely jump that much: in 2012 IMF researchers estimated that in sub-Saharan Africa

实际上，价格基本不会上涨那么多：2012年，IMF研究人员估计，在撒哈拉以南的非洲，

a 10% depreciation typically results in domestic price rises of only 4%. But to maintain an undervalued real exchange rate,

贬值10%通常只会导致国内价格上涨4%。但是为了维持低估的实际汇率，

governments would have to limit inflation by containing local demand, for example by trimming public spending,

各国政府将不得不通过抑制国内需求来抑制通胀，比如通过削减公共开支，

notes Abebe Aemro Selassie, the director of the IMF's Africa department.

IMF非洲部主管Abebe Aemro Selassie指出。

As this is difficult, countries do not typically contemplate⁹ strategic undervaluation.

由于战略性低估很困难，所以各国通常不会考虑。

Perhaps this is not a surprise. Much like tackling corruption¹⁰ or fixing the myriad¹¹ other problems African economies face,

或许这并不令人意外。就像解决腐败问题或解决非洲经济体面临的无数其他问题一样，

strategic undervaluation is hard to pull off. It imposes real wage cuts on the workforce¹², notes Christopher Adam of Oxford¹³ University,

战略性低估很难实现。牛津大学的克里斯多夫·亚当指出，它对劳动力进行了实际的工资削减，

so "you're imposing¹⁴ the cost on current workers and consumers for the benefit of future generations."

因此“你就把成本强加给了现在的工人和消费者，以造福未来几代人。”

No wonder politicians prefer their exchange rates strong.

难怪政客们更喜欢强劲的汇率。

1 depreciation   

n.价值低落，贬值，蔑视，贬低

参考例句：

• She can't bear the depreciation of the enemy.她受不了敌人的蹂躏。
• They wrote off 500 for depreciation of machinery.他们注销了500镑作为机器折旧费。

2 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

3 prone   

adj.(to)易于…的，很可能…的；俯卧的

参考例句：

• Some people are prone to jump to hasty conclusions.有些人往往作出轻率的结论。
• He is prone to lose his temper when people disagree with him.人家一不同意他的意见,他就发脾气。

4 machinery   

n.(总称)机械，机器；机构

参考例句：

• Has the machinery been put up ready for the broadcast?广播器材安装完毕了吗？
• Machinery ought to be well maintained all the time.机器应该随时注意维护。

5 inputs   

n.输入( input的名词复数 )；投入；输入端；输入的数据v.把…输入电脑( input的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Uncheck the inputs checked for optimization in the previous stage. 不测试那些已经测试过的优化了的以前步骤的inputs.（变量参数）。 来自互联网
• Just in case, save in a file the inputs obtained at the previous stage. 以防万一，保存以前步骤获得的inputs（变量参数值）到一个文件中去。 来自互联网

6 fabric   

n.织物，织品，布；构造，结构，组织

参考例句：

• The fabric will spot easily.这种织品很容易玷污。
• I don't like the pattern on the fabric.我不喜欢那块布料上的图案。

7 erodes   

侵蚀，腐蚀( erode的第三人称单数 )； 逐渐毁坏，削弱，损害

参考例句：

• The sea erodes the rock. 海水侵蚀岩石。
• The sea erodes the land. 海洋侵蚀陆地。

8 nominal   

adj.名义上的；(金额、租金)微不足道的

参考例句：

• The king was only the nominal head of the state. 国王只是这个国家名义上的元首。
• The charge of the box lunch was nominal.午餐盒饭收费很少。

9 contemplate   

vt.盘算，计议；周密考虑；注视，凝视

参考例句：

• The possibility of war is too horrifying to contemplate.战争的可能性太可怕了，真不堪细想。
• The consequences would be too ghastly to contemplate.后果不堪设想。

10 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

11 myriad   

adj.无数的；n.无数，极大数量

参考例句：

• They offered no solution for all our myriad problems.对于我们数不清的问题他们束手无策。
• I had three weeks to make a myriad of arrangements.我花了三个星期做大量准备工作。

12 workforce   

n.劳动大军，劳动力

参考例句：

• A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。
• A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。

13 Oxford   

n.牛津（英国城市）

参考例句：

• At present he has become a Professor of Chemistry at Oxford.他现在已是牛津大学的化学教授了。
• This is where the road to Oxford joins the road to London.这是去牛津的路与去伦敦的路的汇合处。

14 imposing   

adj.使人难忘的，壮丽的，堂皇的，雄伟的

参考例句：

• The fortress is an imposing building.这座城堡是一座宏伟的建筑。
• He has lost his imposing appearance.他已失去堂堂仪表。