经济学人:公司理论:协议是怎样构成的(2)

 　　One insight from the literature is that a tightly specified¹ contract can have perverse² outcomes. 一种来自文学的深刻见解是，有严格规定的合约可能带来事与愿违的结果。

　　If teachers are paid according to test results, they will “teach to the test” and pay less regard to other tasks, such as inspiring pupils to think independently. 如果教师是根据考试结果而被付给工资，他们就会“为考试而教”，而且还会减少对激励学生独立思考等其他任务的关注。

　　If chief executives are paid to boost the firm's short-term share price, they will cut investment projects that may benefit shareholders³ in the long run. 如果高管是为了提振短期股价而被付给工资，他们就会减少可能让利益相关方长期得利的投资项目。

　　Mr Holmstrom and Paul Milgrom established that where important tasks are hard to monitor, and where a balance of activities is needed,  霍姆斯特罗姆和保罗·米格罗姆(Paul Milgrom)指出，在重要的任务难以监督以及行为的平衡是必需的情况下，

　　then a contract should shun⁴ strong incentives⁶ tied to any one task. 合约应当回避被绑在任何一项任务上的强烈动机。

　　The best approach is to pay a fixed⁷ salary and to leave the balance of tasks unspecified. 最好的策略是支付一笔固定工资并且让任务的平衡处于未定之中。

　　A related idea developed by Mr Hart and John Moore is of a job contract as a “reference point” rather than as a detailed⁸ map. 由哈特和约翰·摩尔(John Moore)提出的一种相关的观点是把工作合约作为“参考点”，而不是“明细图”。

　　Another insight is that deferred⁹ forms of pay, such as company pension schemes and promotions¹⁰ based on seniority,  另一种深刻见解是，公司养老金计划和基于资历的提升这类延迟支付方式

　　help cement long-term ties with employees and reward them for investing in skills specific to the relationship. 有助于强化与员工的长期关系，同时还要因为员工投资于为双方关系所特有的技能而奖励他们。

　　Coase noted¹¹ in 1937 that the degree to which the mechanism¹² of price is superseded¹³ by the firm varies with the circumstances. 科斯早在1937年就曾指出，价格机制被公司取代所能达到的程度，是随情况的变化而变化的。

　　Eighty years on, the boundary between the two might appear to be dissolving altogether. 80年来，两者间的边界似乎已经完全消失了。

　　The share of self-employed contractors¹⁴ in the labour force has risen. 在劳动力大军中，自我雇佣的签约人比例一直在上升。

　　The “gig economy” exemplified by Uber drivers is mushrooming. 以优步为代表的“零工经济”正在迅速成长。

　　Yet firms are unlikely to wither¹⁵ away. 然而，公司不可能消亡。

　　Prior to Uber, most taxi drivers were already self-employed. 优步之前，大多数出租车司机早已是自我雇佣的了。

　　Spot-like job contracts are becoming more common, but flexibility¹⁶ comes at a cost. 类似于现货的工作合约正在变得愈发常见，但是，灵活性来得是有代价的。

　　Workers have little incentive⁵ to invest in firm-specific skills, so productivity suffers. 由于工人很少有动力投资于公司的特定技能，生产力深受其苦。

　　And even if Mr Seabright's shirt was delivered by a set of market-based transactions, the supply chains for complex goods,  同时，即便希布莱特的衬衫是通过一系列基于市场的交易得到分发的，

　　such as an iPhone or an Airbus A380 superjumbo, rely on long-term contracts that are often “incomplete”. 像iPhone或者空客A380超级客机这样的复杂商品的供应链仍然依赖于经常是“不完整”的长期合约。

　　Coase was the first to spot an enduring truth. 科斯是发现一个持久真相的第一人。

　　Successful economies need both the benign¹⁷ dictatorship of the firm and the invisible hand of the market. 成功的经济体既需要公司的良性独裁，也需要看不见的市场之手。

1 specified   

adj.特定的

参考例句：

• The architect specified oak for the wood trim. 那位建筑师指定用橡木做木饰条。
• It is generated by some specified means. 这是由某些未加说明的方法产生的。

2 perverse   

adj.刚愎的；坚持错误的，行为反常的

参考例句：

• It would be perverse to stop this healthy trend.阻止这种健康发展的趋势是没有道理的。
• She gets a perverse satisfaction from making other people embarrassed.她有一种不正常的心态，以使别人难堪来取乐。

3 shareholders   

n.股东( shareholder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The meeting was attended by 90% of shareholders. 90%的股东出席了会议。
• the company's fiduciary duty to its shareholders 公司对股东负有的受托责任

4 shun   

vt.避开，回避，避免

参考例句：

• Materialists face truth,whereas idealists shun it.唯物主义者面向真理，唯心主义者则逃避真理。
• This extremist organization has shunned conventional politics.这个极端主义组织有意避开了传统政治。

5 incentive   

n.刺激；动力；鼓励；诱因；动机

参考例句：

• Money is still a major incentive in most occupations.在许多职业中，钱仍是主要的鼓励因素。
• He hasn't much incentive to work hard.他没有努力工作的动机。

6 incentives   

激励某人做某事的事物( incentive的名词复数 )； 刺激； 诱因； 动机

参考例句：

• tax incentives to encourage savings 鼓励储蓄的税收措施
• Furthermore, subsidies provide incentives only for investments in equipment. 更有甚者，提供津贴仅是为鼓励增添设备的投资。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

7 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

8 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

9 deferred   

adj.延期的，缓召的v.拖延，延缓，推迟( defer的过去式和过去分词 )；服从某人的意愿，遵从

参考例句：

• The department deferred the decision for six months. 这个部门推迟了六个月才作决定。
• a tax-deferred savings plan 延税储蓄计划

10 promotions   

促进( promotion的名词复数 )； 提升； 推广； 宣传

参考例句：

• All services or promotions must have an appeal and wide application. 所有服务或促销工作都必须具有吸引力和广泛的适用性。
• He promptly directed the highest promotions and decorations for General MacArthur. 他授予麦克阿瑟将军以最高的官阶和勋奖。

11 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

12 mechanism   

n.机械装置；机构，结构

参考例句：

• The bones and muscles are parts of the mechanism of the body.骨骼和肌肉是人体的组成部件。
• The mechanism of the machine is very complicated.这台机器的结构是非常复杂的。

13 superseded   

[医]被代替的，废弃的

参考例句：

• The theory has been superseded by more recent research. 这一理论已为新近的研究所取代。
• The use of machinery has superseded manual labour. 机器的使用已经取代了手工劳动。

14 contractors   

n.（建筑、监造中的）承包人( contractor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We got estimates from three different contractors before accepting the lowest. 我们得到3个承包商的报价后，接受了最低的报价。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Contractors winning construction jobs had to kick back 2 per cent of the contract price to the mafia. 赢得建筑工作的承包商得抽出合同价格的百分之二的回扣给黑手党。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 wither   

vt.使凋谢，使衰退，(用眼神气势等)使畏缩；vi.枯萎，衰退，消亡

参考例句：

• She grows as a flower does-she will wither without sun.她象鲜花一样成长--没有太阳就会凋谢。
• In autumn the leaves wither and fall off the trees.秋天，树叶枯萎并从树上落下来。

16 flexibility   

n.柔韧性，弹性，（光的）折射性，灵活性

参考例句：

• Her great strength lies in her flexibility.她的优势在于她灵活变通。
• The flexibility of a man's muscles will lessen as he becomes old.人老了肌肉的柔韧性将降低。

17 benign   

adj.善良的，慈祥的；良性的，无危险的

参考例句：

• The benign weather brought North America a bumper crop.温和的气候给北美带来大丰收。
• Martha is a benign old lady.玛莎是个仁慈的老妇人。