美国国家公共电台 NPR--How economics retreats made a strong impression on federal judges

How economics retreats made a strong impression on federal judges

Transcript¹

Between 1976 and 1999, hundreds of federal judges traveled to a private retreat where they learned from famous economists³. These retreats may have had a surprising effect on federal courts.

A MARTINEZ, HOST:

Between 1976 and 1999, hundreds of federal judges traveled to an exclusive, private retreat where they learn from famous economists. Ruth Bader Ginsburg went, so did Clarence Thomas. Jeff Guo from our PLANET MONEY podcast tells us how these retreats may have had a surprising effect on federal courts.

JEFF GUO, BYLINE⁴: Picture this - it's 1982, and we're on an island resort near Miami. RBG has just arrived, along with 18 other federal judges. And they're about to spend two weeks hanging out and learning economics. The guy who arranged all of this, his name was Henry Manne. He was an influential⁵ professor of law and economics. And in 1976, he started a program to teach federal judges economics. Manne died in 2015. But here's him talking about it in 2005.

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HENRY MANNE: All these years later, I still think it was the nerviest thing imaginable. No one had ever conceived of any idea of a private program to educate federal judges.

GUO: Manne brought the judges to swanky locations, where they would take classes on supply and demand, monopolies, taxation⁶. And he got Nobel laureates, people like Milton Friedman and Paul Samuelson, to give lectures. By all accounts, these retreats were a lot of fun. And they became really popular. By the 1990, some 40% of federal judges had done the program. But the retreats were also controversial. Critics pointed⁷ out that the funding was coming from corporations and conservative foundations. And the professors mostly seemed to be teaching a conservative, free market version of economics, which was popular at the time. And according to Suresh Naidu, an economist² at Columbia University, these two-week seminars had a surprisingly influential legacy⁸. Naidu and his colleagues, Elliott Ash and Daniel Chen, recently analyzed⁹ the decisions of all the judges who attended this program before and after. And their preliminary results show that these econ bootcamps had a big impact on the courts.

SURESH NAIDU: I think we find the effects are strongest for the Democrat¹⁰ appointees. So it's a program that has, I think, effects on liberal judges and makes them somewhat more conservative.

GUO: For instance, they found that the program made judges more likely to rule against the agencies in charge of our environmental and labor¹¹ regulations. And it may have also made the judges more friendly to corporate¹² monopolies. Vaughn Walker, a judge who attended one of these retreats in the 90s, says people who accuse the camps of being this kind of brainwashing thing, they have it all wrong. Judges know how to be impartial¹³. That's the job.

VAUGHN WALKER: People are trying to brainwash judges all the time with this argument or that argument. And if there's any group in society that has developed some instincts of skepticism, it should be judges.

GUO: But Naidu says, there's a kind of power in economics, even though economists aren't always right. In fact, a lot of what the judges were learning at these camps is now outdated¹⁴. We kind of see it as being too reductive. But economists use math and logic¹⁵ in a way that can be really hard to argue with.

NAIDU: It's like, these judges that are super smart and, like, super skeptical¹⁶, it takes something that's as powerful as economics to convince them.

GUO: Jeff Guo, NPR News.

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1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 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。

3 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

6 taxation   

n.征税，税收，税金

参考例句：

• He made a number of simplifications in the taxation system.他在税制上作了一些简化。
• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。

7 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

8 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

9 analyzed   

v.分析( analyze的过去式和过去分词 )；分解；解释；对…进行心理分析

参考例句：

• The doctors analyzed the blood sample for anemia. 医生们分析了贫血的血样。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The young man did not analyze the process of his captivation and enrapturement, for love to him was a mystery and could not be analyzed. 这年轻人没有分析自己蛊惑著迷的过程，因为对他来说，爱是个不可分析的迷。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

11 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

12 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

13 impartial   

adj.(in,to)公正的，无偏见的

参考例句：

• He gave an impartial view of the state of affairs in Ireland.他对爱尔兰的事态发表了公正的看法。
• Careers officers offer impartial advice to all pupils.就业指导员向所有学生提供公正无私的建议。

14 outdated   

adj.旧式的，落伍的，过时的；v.使过时

参考例句：

• That list of addresses is outdated,many have changed.那个通讯录已经没用了，许多地址已经改了。
• Many of us conform to the outdated customs laid down by our forebears.我们许多人都遵循祖先立下的过时习俗。

15 logic   

n.逻辑(学)；逻辑性

参考例句：

• What sort of logic is that?这是什么逻辑？
• I don't follow the logic of your argument.我不明白你的论点逻辑性何在。

16 skeptical   

adj.怀疑的，多疑的

参考例句：

• Others here are more skeptical about the chances for justice being done.这里的其他人更为怀疑正义能否得到伸张。
• Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。