经济学人177:让移民来得更猛烈些吧！

 　　Immigration

　　移民问题

　　Let them come

　　让移民来得更猛烈些吧！

　　The West should be more welcoming to migrants—there’s competition from the East for them

　　西方应该更加欢迎移民，不然东方就把他们竞争走了

　　Aug 27th 2011 | from the print edition

　　IMMIGRATION is a sensitive subject at the best of times, and this is not one of them. The economic crisis has destroyed millions of jobs in rich countries, making their governments especially touchy² about the impact of immigration on the demand for indigenous³ labour.

　　即便是在光景好的年代，移民也是个敏感话题，更何况如今光景衰败。发达国家在经济危机中失去了千百万的就业岗位，因此，政府对移民影响本土劳动力需求的问题显得尤为敏感。

　　Such concerns are illogical, because immigration is counter-cyclical. Recession in rich countries has discouraged some would-be incomers from trying their luck. America, for instance, has seen a sharp decline in Mexicans trying to cross its southern border. Immigration to Europe has slowed. Some studies also suggest that increased inflows of migrants are a leading indicator⁴ of a pickup⁵ in growth.

　　这样的担忧毫无逻辑，因为移民是反周期性的。发达国家的经济衰退已经让一些潜在移民望而却步。比如说，从美国南部边界进入该国的墨西哥人数量已经大大减少了。欧洲的移民量也在减缓。一些研究还表明移入居民的增加是经济增长好转的先行指标。

　　Yet governments are often reluctant to leave migration¹ flows to the labour market. In recessions, they tend to take steps to discourage new migrants and even get rid of existing ones. Over the past year the Danish, French and Italian governments have rolled back the Schengen passport-free zone and reintroduced limited border controls. Even Australia and Canada, which pioneered the “points system” to give preference to skilled workers, have cut back on work permits. David Cameron, Britain’s prime minister, has imposed a “migration cap” for those from outside the EU. Countries including Spain, Japan and Denmark have taken this to its logical conclusion, with “pay as you go” schemes, under which migrants get cash handouts⁶ to return to their countries of origin.

　　然而政府总是不愿意让劳动力市场来自行调节移民量。在衰退时期，政府常常采取措施限制新移民进入，甚至驱赶现存移民。在过去的一年中，丹麦、法国、意大利政府均取消申根区免护照的规定，重新采取边境管制措施。甚至连澳大利亚、加拿大这两个利用“计分制度”招揽技术工人的国家，也减少了国外工人的工作许可证。英国首相大卫.卡梅伦也对欧盟以外的人员进行“移民限定”。一些国家，包括西班牙、日本、丹麦，也作出诸如此类的逻辑推断，采取“走人就给钱”的方案，也就是移民迁回各自国家就可以得到政府派发的现金。

　　Concerns about immigration are understandable, especially at a time when jobs are in such short supply. Polling in both Europe and America suggests that a majority of locals think immigrants do more harm than good and damage locals’ chances in the job market. Evidence that immigration hurts indigenous workers is, however, weak. In seasonal⁷ work and construction, cheap foreign labour can depress wages and make it harder for the low-skilled to find work, but the flexibility⁸ and willingness of new workers can also boost productivity and encourage innovation.

　　对移民问题的担忧是可以理解的，尤其是处在一个工作紧缺的时期。在欧美的调查显示大部分当地人认为移民带来的危害大于好处，他们抢走了本地人的工作机会。然而，证明移民损害本土工人利益的证据仍旧匮乏。对于季节性工作和建设工作，廉价的外国劳动力会压低工资水平，同时也让一些技术水平低下的本地人难以找到工作。但是新涌入的工人带来的灵活性和工作干劲却能够提高生产率，鼓励创新。

　　Strains on public services can sorely test the patience of locals, especially when budget cuts are making it hard to maintain such services. In Britain, for instance, a contingency⁹ fund to help cash-strapped local authorities facing pressure on public services has been scrapped¹⁰. Yet over time immigrants more than repay the extra short-term burden they impose on education, health and other budgets.

　　大量移民涌入带来的公共服务资源紧缺也会让本地人大大失去耐心，尤其是当预算削减使得此类服务难以维系下去的时候。比如在英国，一项用于帮助资金短缺的地方政府缓解来自公共服务方面压力的应急费用已被取消。然而，长远来看，移民带来的好处定会远远超过他们短时间内给教育、卫生及其他预算带来的额外负担。

　　Keep the gates open

　　敞开大门

　　Politicians often say that they want a sensible debate about immigration; but too often they pander¹¹ to voters’ fears of immigrants rather than attempting to allay¹² them. They should be particularly wary¹³ of doing so now. There is growing competition for their skills elsewhere (see article): Asia is fast becoming the new magnet for migrants.

　　政治家们常说他们想要在移民问题上保持清醒理智；但他们却常常迎合选民们对移民的担忧，而不是努力去缓解他们的担忧。现阶段他们应当尤其慎重了。其他地方对移民技术的竞争在逐渐增加：亚洲正迅速成为新的移民吸铁石。

　　China, which used to be closed to immigrant labour, is now handing out residency permits to professionals, academics and entrepreneurs. In 2009 Shanghai recorded 100,000 foreigners living there. A similar number have settled in the southern port of Guangzhou, drawn¹⁴ from Europe, the Middle East and Africa. South Korea has also witnessed a rise in incomers since 2007 and is particularly keen to attract American-educated graduates.

　　在过去中国对移民劳力是不开放的，现在却向专业人才、学者、企业家广发居住许可。2009年上海记录有10万外国人居住在此。也有差不多数量的外国人在中国南部港口广州入住，他们来自欧洲、中东和非洲。自2007年起，韩国的入境移民也在不断增加。韩国尤其热衷于吸引美国毕业的人才。

　　Immigration is, on the whole, good for economies; and right now, rich countries can do with all the economic help they can get. Rather than sending immigrants home, with their skills, energy, ideas and willingness to work, governments should be encouraging them to come. If they don’t, governments elsewhere will.

　　总体来说，移民有利于经济发展。现阶段发达国家需要一切能得到的经济帮助。政府不应驱赶移民回家，他们有着技术、精力和工作的意愿，相反政府更应该鼓励移民的移入。如果发达国家政府不这么做，别国政府就会。

1 migration   

n.迁移，移居，（鸟类等的）迁徙

参考例句：

• Swallows begin their migration south in autumn.燕子在秋季开始向南方迁移。
• He described the vernal migration of birds in detail.他详细地描述了鸟的春季移居。

2 touchy   

adj.易怒的；棘手的

参考例句：

• Be careful what you say because he's touchy.你说话小心，因为他容易生气。
• He's a little touchy about his weight.他对自己的体重感到有点儿苦恼。

3 indigenous   

adj.土产的，土生土长的，本地的

参考例句：

• Each country has its own indigenous cultural tradition.每个国家都有自己本土的文化传统。
• Indians were the indigenous inhabitants of America.印第安人是美洲的土著居民。

4 indicator   

n.指标；指示物，指示者；指示器

参考例句：

• Gold prices are often seen as an indicator of inflation.黃金价格常常被看作是通货膨胀的指标。
• His left-hand indicator is flashing.他左手边的转向灯正在闪亮。

5 pickup   

n.拾起，获得

参考例句：

• I would love to trade this car for a pickup truck.我愿意用这辆汽车换一辆小型轻便卡车。||The luck guy is a choice pickup for the girls.那位幸运的男孩是女孩子们想勾搭上的人。

6 handouts   

救济品( handout的名词复数 )； 施舍物； 印刷品； 讲义

参考例句：

• Soldiers oversee the food handouts. 士兵们看管着救济食品。
• Even after losing his job, he was too proud to accept handouts. 甚至在失去工作后，他仍然很骄傲，不愿接受施舍。

7 seasonal   

adj.季节的，季节性的

参考例句：

• The town relies on the seasonal tourist industry for jobs.这个城镇依靠季节性旅游业提供就业机会。
• The hors d'oeuvre is seasonal vegetables.餐前小吃是应时蔬菜。

8 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。

9 contingency   

n.意外事件，可能性

参考例句：

• We should be prepared for any contingency.我们应该对任何应急情况有所准备。
• A fire in our warehouse was a contingency that we had not expected.库房的一场大火是我们始料未及的。

10 scrapped   

废弃(scrap的过去式与过去分词)； 打架

参考例句：

• This machine is so old that it will soon have to be scrapped. 这架机器太旧，快报废了。
• It had been thought that passport controls would be scrapped. 人们曾认为会放开护照管制。

11 pander   

v.迎合；n.拉皮条者，勾引者；帮人做坏事的人

参考例句：

• Don't pander to such people. 要迎合这样的人。
• Those novels pander to people's liking for stories about crime.那些小说迎合读者对犯罪故事的爱好。

12 allay   

v.消除，减轻(恐惧、怀疑等)

参考例句：

• The police tried to allay her fears but failed.警察力图减轻她的恐惧，但是没有收到什么效果。
• They are trying to allay public fears about the spread of the disease.他们正竭力减轻公众对这种疾病传播的恐惧。

13 wary   

adj.谨慎的，机警的，小心的

参考例句：

• He is wary of telling secrets to others.他谨防向他人泄露秘密。
• Paula frowned,suddenly wary.宝拉皱了皱眉头，突然警惕起来。

14 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。