经济学人:商业组织联合体 机制正被打破

 　　Cartel-busting

　　商业组织联合体机制正被打破

　　Boring can still be bad

　　无趣之势依旧呈现糟糕状态

　　Market-rigging in unsexy industries costs consumers a lot. More can be done to detect and deter¹ it.

　　无聊行业在操纵市场方面使得消费者耗资巨大。对此，政府可以施行更多的措施检测和阻止这一现象的发生。

　　MENTION price cartels and many people will think of big, overt² ones like the one OPEC runs for oil and the now-extinct one for diamonds. But at least as damaging are the many secret cartels in such unglamorous areas as ball-bearings and cargo³ rates, which go on unnoticed for years, quietly bumping up the end cost to consumers of all manner of goods and services.

　　提到价格垄断，很多人会想到一些大型和公开明显的垄断企业，如欧佩克石油输出国家组织以及现今已经退出市场的钻石垄断公司。然而，至少在单调乏味的领域，有很多秘密运营的垄断企业，诸如轴承和货运费率领域里也同样具有损害性，这些企业数年未被关注，最近在各大产品和服务方面，迅速增长其对客户的所需产品和服务的首尾成本。

　　商业组织联合体机制正被打破.jpg

　　Collusion among producers to rig prices and carve up markets is thriving, with the cartels growing ever more intricate and global in scope. Competition authorities have uncovered several whopping conspiracies⁴ in recent years, including one in which more than 20 airlines worldwide had fixed⁵ prices on perhaps 20 billion of freight shipments. They were fined a total of 3 billion; and so far the compensation claims from ripped-off customers comfortably exceed 1 billion. One academic study found that the typical cartel raised the price of the goods or services in question by 20%. Another suggested that cartels were robbing poor countries'consumers of tens of billions of dollars a year: if so, negating⁶ all the aid that rich countries'governments send them.

　　随着卡特尔垄断更为复杂地增长并且呈全球范围扩展的趋势，生产者共同谋求操纵以及划分市场的现象正逐渐兴盛起来。竞争当局发现近年来存在一些巨大的阴谋，包括超过二十多条的国际航线之一的一家公司，私定200亿元的货物装运价格。他们因此被处以30亿元的罚款；并且到目前为止那些确定为敲消费者竹杠的公司被处以的赔偿金超出了10亿元。一个学术研究表明典型的卡特尔垄断使得有疑问的商品和服务增长了20%。另一个研究表明卡特尔垄断是从贫困国家的消费者中剥夺了他们平均一年上百亿美元的钱财：如果正如这样所说，否定所有富有国家政府对他们施行的援助是有道理的。

　　Investigators⁷ are still unravelling⁸ a huge global network of cartels among suppliers of a wide range of car parts. Makers⁹ of seat belts, radiators¹⁰ and foam¹¹ seat-stuffing have had hefty fines slapped on them. Earlier this month the European Commission fined five makers of automotive bearings a total of 953m (1.32 billion). This week its investigators raided a bunch of makers of car exhausts. Also in recent days, Brazilian prosecutors¹² have charged executives from a dozen foreign train-makers accused of rigging bids for rail and subway contracts in the country's main cities. Price-fixing has infected high finance, too. Some of banking's biggest names stand accused of fiddling¹³ interest-rate and foreign-exchange benchmarks.

　　研究调查者仍然在试图解决一项关于大量汽车零部件供应商的巨大国际垄断网络问题。汽车座位安全带、散热器和泡沫座位填充物的生产者，已经被处以了巨额的罚款。这个月早些时候，欧洲委员会对汽车轴承的制造商处以了总计13.2亿元的罚款。这个星期，调查者们突袭了一群汽车尾气的制造商。并且在最近几天，巴西的告发者起诉了十几个国外火车制造商的高管，缘由是他们在国家主要的城市垄断铁轨和地铁合同的竞标。操纵价格也已经同样影响到了巨额的投资。银行的大腕们也面临着人们对其摆弄利率和银行基准的指责。

　　The good news is that enforcement has got tougher, smarter and more co-ordinated. Gone are the days when price-fixers got a slap on the wrist. Firms can expect swingeing fines, and bosses can go to jail. Since many cartels now operate across borders, so do investigators: American and Japanese trustbusters joined forces to flush out the car-parts cartels. And incentives¹⁴ for whistleblowers have also increased: around 50 countries now offer immunity¹⁵ or reduced penalties for snitches.

　　好消息是，执法方面变得更为严格，更加智能，也更为协调。价格固定器被撞到腰的日子一去不复返了。企业可以预期被处以巨额的罚款，老板可能会进监狱。由于许多卡特尔垄断组织从事跨国经营，调查者们也同样是跨国合作的：美国和日本的反托拉斯者联手改变汽车零部件垄断现象。并使举报人的奖励也得以增加：约50个国家现在规定提供豁免权或对打小报告减少处罚。

　　That is all for the better, but the penalties for price-fixing remain too mild. The best study of the issue so far concluded that, given the still-low risk of detection, collusion pays. Yet beyond a certain point—which the fines now imposed by American and European regulators have probably reached—fines inflict¹⁶ so much damage on guilty companies that they undermine competition instead of enhancing it. The answer is stiffer prison sentences, particularly for senior executives. American courts, only too ready to lock up other types of miscreants¹⁷ for a long time, have rarely jailed egregious¹⁸ price-fixers for anything like the maximum of ten years that the law allows. Other countries have even more scope to increase sentences.

　　这是为了能够使得情况有所好转，但是对于操纵价格的处罚仍然过于温和。这个问题的最好的研究，就是到目前为止的结论是，鉴于检测仍低风险，共谋会付出代价。然而，除这点之外，现在由美国和欧洲监管机构处以的罚款可能已经达到——罚款对于有罪责的公司所造成的破坏，相比提升其竞争力而言，反而削弱了该公司的竞争力。答案就是严厉的监狱服刑，特别是对于高级管理人员的处罚。美国法院很愿意关押其他类型的歹徒达更长的时间，他们很少对过分的价格制定者实行监禁，比如法律所允许的最长可达十年的监禁期。其他国家拥有更多的增加刑罚的范围权限。

　　Buy some geeks

　　购买一些技术型极客

　　More can be done to aid detection, too. Statistical¹⁹ tests to “screen” markets for unusual pricing patterns helped uncover the interest-rate and foreign-exchange scandals. Potential conspirators²⁰ may think twice if they suspect their market is being screened. European and Latin American trustbusters are making good use of the technique; their American counterparts should do so, too. Deploying²¹ such cutting-edge technology is costly²²; and increased funding is a big ask at a time of public-sector parsimony²³. But cartel authorities in Europe and America generally bring in far more than they cost to run, so extra money pushed in their direction is likely to be well spent.

　　同样也有更多可以帮助检测的办法。统计测试表明屏蔽市场不寻常的定价模式有助于揭开利率和外汇丑闻。如果潜在的阴谋者他们怀疑自己的市场被屏蔽，可能会三思而后行。欧洲和拉丁美洲的反托拉斯人员正利用该技术；他们的美国同行们应该也这样做。部署这种先进的技术是昂贵的；而增加的资金对公共部门而言，每次都是一个很大的要求。但在欧洲和美国卡特尔当局通常会远远超过他们的成本运行，因此多余的钱促使他们朝着自己的方向，用得其所。

　　Another way to discourage the formation of cartels is to factor the increased risk of collusion into scrutiny²⁴ of proposed mergers²⁵. Price-fixing is likelier, and easier to sustain, with fewer players. This could never be the primary determinant in competition decisions, but it should be in the mix. Blocking a few more mergers—whose benefits anyway tend to be over-egged—might both save companies from themselves and spare their customers the costs of collusion.

　　另一种方法来阻止卡特尔的形成，是官商勾结因素的危险性增加，被作为合并建议的审查考虑在内。操纵价格是更有可能的，并且更容易维持，只需要较少的参与者。这不可能是竞争决策的主要决定因素，但它应加以进行混合调整。阻止少数几个兼并者——这种行动所带来的收益往往是在过度怂恿之下促成的—这样既为企业节省了他们自己的开支，也使得企业对客户活动追踪的成本得以减少。

　　1.run for v.竞选

　　例句:Look. The train's in. We'll have to run for it now.

　　看，火车进站了，我们现在得赶紧朝那边跑了。

　　2.carve up 瓜分；分割

　　例句:He wanted to go into the street and carve someone's face up.

　　他想上街去把别人的脸刮花。

　　3.ready to 乐于；时刻准备

　　例句:Catherine was ready to explode. "I think you're contemptible²⁶!"

　　凯瑟琳气得快要炸了。“我觉得你真是可鄙！”

　　4.tend to 倾向于；趋向

　　例句:The wind is tending to the south.

　　风势转为南。

1 deter   

vt.阻止，使不敢，吓住

参考例句：

• Failure did not deter us from trying it again.失败并没有能阻挡我们再次进行试验。
• Dogs can deter unwelcome intruders.狗能够阻拦不受欢迎的闯入者。

2 overt   

adj.公开的，明显的，公然的

参考例句：

• His opponent's intention is quite overt.他的对手的意图很明显。
• We should learn to fight with enemy in an overt and covert way.我们应学会同敌人做公开和隐蔽的斗争。

3 cargo   

n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物

参考例句：

• The ship has a cargo of about 200 ton.这条船大约有200吨的货物。
• A lot of people discharged the cargo from a ship.许多人从船上卸下货物。

4 conspiracies   

n.阴谋，密谋( conspiracy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He was still alive and hatching his conspiracies. 他还活着，策划着阴谋诡计。 来自辞典例句
• It appeared that they had engaged in fresh conspiracies from the very moment of their release. 看上去他们刚给释放，立刻开始新一轮的阴谋活动。 来自英汉文学

5 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。

6 negating   

v.取消( negate的现在分词 )；使无效；否定；否认

参考例句：

• The decline of community life is negating the work of welfare services. 社区生活的下降否定了福利机构的工作。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Post-modernity transcends modernity by the means of negating and clearing up selfhood. 后现代超越现代性是通过否定和消解主体来实现的。 来自互联网

7 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 unravelling   

解开，拆散，散开( unravel的现在分词 )； 阐明； 澄清； 弄清楚

参考例句：

• Nail head clamp the unravelling of nail exteriorize broken nails and clean. 钉头卡钉，拆开钉头取出碎钉并清洁。
• The ends of ropes are in good condition and secured without unravelling. 缆绳端部状况良好及牢固，并无松散脱线。

9 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 radiators   

n.（暖气设备的）散热器( radiator的名词复数 )；汽车引擎的冷却器，散热器

参考例句：

• You can preset the radiators to come on when you need them to. 你可以预先调好暖气，使它在你需要的时候启动。
• Stars are radiators of vast power. 恒星是强大的发光体。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

11 foam   

v./n.泡沫，起泡沫

参考例句：

• The glass of beer was mostly foam.这杯啤酒大部分是泡沫。
• The surface of the water is full of foam.水面都是泡沫。

12 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。

13 fiddling   

微小的

参考例句：

• He was fiddling with his keys while he talked to me. 和我谈话时他不停地摆弄钥匙。
• All you're going to see is a lot of fiddling around. 你今天要看到的只是大量的胡摆乱弄。 来自英汉文学 - 廊桥遗梦

14 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

15 immunity   

n.优惠；免除；豁免，豁免权

参考例句：

• The law gives public schools immunity from taxation.法律免除公立学校的纳税义务。
• He claims diplomatic immunity to avoid being arrested.他要求外交豁免以便避免被捕。

16 inflict   

vt.(on)把…强加给，使遭受，使承担

参考例句：

• Don't inflict your ideas on me.不要把你的想法强加于我。
• Don't inflict damage on any person.不要伤害任何人。

17 miscreants   

n.恶棍，歹徒( miscreant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• I ordered the miscreants to let me out. 我命令这些土匪放我出去。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Local people demanded that the District Magistrate apprehend the miscreants. 当地人要求地方法官逮捕那些歹徒。 来自辞典例句

18 egregious   

adj.非常的，过分的

参考例句：

• When it comes to blatant lies,there are none more egregious than budget figures.谈到公众谎言，没有比预算数字更令人震惊的。
• What an egregious example was here!现摆着一个多么触目惊心的例子啊。

19 statistical   

adj.统计的，统计学的

参考例句：

• He showed the price fluctuations in a statistical table.他用统计表显示价格的波动。
• They're making detailed statistical analysis.他们正在做具体的统计分析。

20 conspirators   

n.共谋者，阴谋家( conspirator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The conspirators took no part in the fighting which ensued. 密谋者没有参加随后发生的战斗。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The French conspirators were forced to escape very hurriedly. 法国同谋者被迫匆促逃亡。 来自辞典例句

21 deploying   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的现在分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Provides support for developing and deploying distributed, component-based applications. 为开发和部署基于组件的分布式应用程序提供支持。
• Advertisement, publishing, repair, and install-on-demand are all available when deploying your application. 在部署应用程序时提供公布、发布、修复和即需即装功能。

22 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

23 parsimony   

n.过度节俭，吝啬

参考例句：

• A classic example comes from comedian Jack Benny, famous for his parsimony.有个经典例子出自以吝啬著称的喜剧演员杰克?班尼。
• Due to official parsimony only the one machine was built.由于官方过于吝啬，仅制造了那一台机器。

24 scrutiny   

n.详细检查，仔细观察

参考例句：

• His work looks all right,but it will not bear scrutiny.他的工作似乎很好，但是经不起仔细检查。
• Few wives in their forties can weather such a scrutiny.很少年过四十的妻子经得起这么仔细的观察。

25 mergers   

n.（两个公司的）合并( merger的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Mergers fall into three categories: horizontal, vertical, and conglomerate. 合并分为以下三种：横向合并，纵向合并和混合合并。 来自辞典例句
• Many recent mergers are concentrated within specific industries, particularly in retailing, airlines and communications. 现代许多合并企业集中进行某些特定业务，在零售业、民航和通讯业中更是如此。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

26 contemptible   

adj.可鄙的，可轻视的，卑劣的

参考例句：

• His personal presence is unimpressive and his speech contemptible.他气貌不扬，言语粗俗。
• That was a contemptible trick to play on a friend.那是对朋友玩弄的一出可鄙的把戏。