2020年经济学人 哄抬物价(1)（在线收听）

Much about the pandemic sweeping across the world is unprecedented, but one aspect is all too familiar: price gouging in the wake of a disaster.

关于这场席卷全球的流行病的许多方面都是前所未有的，但有一个方面我们都太过熟悉了：因灾难而导致的哄抬物价。

In New York police arrested a man who had stockpiled medical gear, allegedly selling it for a 700% mark-up.

在纽约，警方逮捕了一名囤积医疗设备的男子，据称他将医疗设备以700%的溢价出售。

Indonesian authorities seized 600,000 masks from hoarders. In Italy the government launched a probe into sky-high online prices for basic protective equipment.

印度尼西亚官方从囤积者手中没收了60万个口罩。在意大利，政府对基本防护装备的天价网络售价展开了调查。

Such crackdowns are popular. Who could possibly endorse disaster profiteering? Many economists, as it turns out.

这样的打击很受欢迎。谁会赞成发灾难财呢？事实证明，许多经济学家会。

To be clear, it is not that they want the public to miss out on life-saving products. Quite the contrary.

需要明确的是，这并不是说他们希望公众错过拯救生命的产品。恰恰相反。

They believe that soaring prices stimulate greater output, and that policies to cap costs might limit supplies and so do more harm than good.

他们认为物价飞涨能够刺激更多产出，而限制成本的政策可能会限制供应，因此弊大于利。

In 2012 the University of Chicago surveyed 32 eminent economists about legislation that banned price gouging during a weather-related emergency.

2012年，芝加哥大学就一项立法对32位知名经济学家进行了调查，该立法禁止在与天气有关的紧急情况下哄抬物价。

Only three supported the ban; more than half criticised it. Similar views have been aired in recent weeks.

只有三人支持该禁令；超过一半的人批评了该禁令。最近几周也出现了类似的观点。

An economist with the Cato Institute, a conservative think-tank, lamented the "madness" of anti-gouging rules,

保守派智囊团卡托研究所的一名经济学家对反对哄抬物价的“疯狂”表示遗憾，

saying that profits are what entice firms to meet rising demand for safety equipment.

他表示利润是吸引企业满足日益增长的安全设备需求的原因。

Yet a closer look at one key piece of equipment—masks—during the coronavirus crisis shows that this standard view needs revamping.

然而，在冠状病毒危机期间，仔细观察一个关键设备——面罩，就会发现这种标准观点需要改进。

Economists are normally loth to tamper with prices, the most basic element of any market. But little about this pandemic has been normal.

经济学家通常不愿干预价格，而价格是任何市场的最基本要素。但是关于这次大流行的情况大部分都不正常。

Price signalling alone would have been inadequate to the challenge of ensuring vast increases in supply.

仅靠价格信号不足以应对确保供应大幅增加的挑战。

First, consider the manufacture of masks. They might look simple, but producers need sterile factories and sophisticated machinery to churn out melt-blown fabric.

首先，考虑口罩的生产。它们看似简单，但生产商需要无菌工厂和精密的机器才能大量生产熔喷织物。