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 shareholders 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 shun strong incentives 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 fixed 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 detailed 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 deferred forms of pay, such as company pension schemes and promotions 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　　Coase noted in 1937 that the degree to which the mechanism of price is superseded by the firm varies with the circumstances.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 contractors 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 wither 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 flexibility 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 incentive 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 benign 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。