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经济速成班 第15课:贫穷与全球化贸易

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Welcome to Crash Course Economics, I'm Adriene Hill.

欢迎收看经济速成班,我是埃德因·希尔。
And I'm Jacob Clifford, and today we're talking about poverty and extreme poverty,
我是雅各布·克利福德,我们今天要讲贫困与极端贫困
which are not easy problems to talk about, and not easy problems to fix.
这个问题不好讨论,也不容易解决。
But just because the problem is difficult doesn't mean we shouldn't try to understand it. So let's get into it.
但问题困难并不意味着我们不应该去理解它。所以开始吧。
Back in the 1990's the United Nations created eight Millennium Development Goals, with a deadline of 2015.
早在20世纪90年代,联合国就制定了8个千年发展目标,截止日期是2015年。
The goals included things like reducing child mortality,
这些目标包括降低儿童死亡率,
promoting gender equality, and combating major diseases.
促进性别平等与对抗重大疾病。
But the first on the list was to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger.
但首当其冲的是消除极端贫困与饥饿。
Now, poverty means different things in different countries
现在,贫穷的含义因国家不同而有差别,
because there's different standards of living around the world.
因为世界各国的生活标准不同。
In the U.S. a person is officially living in poverty if they make less than 11,770 dollars a year, around 32 dollars a day.
在美国,如果一个人的年收入低于1.177万美元,日收入少于32美元,官方上就属于生活贫困之列。
This is called the "poverty line" or "poverty threshold",
这被称为“贫穷线”或“贫穷门槛”,
but we're gonna focus on extreme poverty, which according to the U.N. is
但我们关注的是极端贫困,根据联合国的说法,它是指
"a condition characterized by severe deprivation of basic human needs,
“一种人类基本需求严重匮乏的状况,
including food, safe drinking water, sanitation facilities, health, shelter, education and information."
包括缺乏食品、安全饮用水、卫生设施、健康、住房、教育和信息。”
The U.N. defines "extreme" or "absolute poverty" as living on less than 1.25 dollars a day.
联合国将“极端贫困”或“绝对贫困”的标准定义为每天生活费不足1.25美元。
The goals set by the U.N. was to reduce the number of people living in extreme poverty by half.
它制定的目标是将极端贫困人口减少一半。
Well, to 2015, the result turns in and the U.N. report that 836 million people still live in extreme poverty.
嗯,截止到2015年,上交的结果与联合国报告称8.36亿人仍然生活在极端贫困中。
But that's down from 1.9 billion, so success. Or at least a lot of progress.
但这个数据低于19亿,所以计划很成功,或者说至少有很多进步。
And the World Bank predicts that by 2030
世界银行预测,到2030年,
the number of people living in extreme poverty could drop to less than 400 million.
极端贫困人口数量可能会减至4亿。
Of course, that assumes everything will keep improving as it has.
当然,前提是一切都将继续改善。
But there's an asterisk here. Climate change is a threat to these improvements in global poverty.
但这里要用星号标出,气候变化对全球贫困状况的改善构成威胁。
So we're moving in the right direction, but we're talking about extreme poverty.
所以我们正朝着正确的方向前进,但仍在谈论极端贫困。
Most people who've been lifted out of extreme poverty are still poor. Really poor.
大多数摆脱极端贫困的人仍然很穷。真的很穷。
And being poor comes with serious problems, from disease to lack of water.
贫穷会带来严重问题,从疾病到缺水比比皆是。
Income inequality is rampant, and one in seven people still live without electricity.
收入不平等现象十分严重,七分之一的人仍然生活在没电的环境中。
So why is extreme poverty falling? The answer to this is really complicated.
那么,为什么极端贫困人数下降了呢?答案真得很复杂。
A bunch of factors like better access to education, humanitarian aid,
很多因素如更好的受教育机会、人道主义援助
and the policies of international organizations like the U.N. have made a difference.
以及联合国这样的国际组织采取的政策都起到了作用。
But the greatest contributor is globalization and trade.
但是最大的贡献者是全球化和贸易。
The world's economies and cultures have become more interconnected
世界的经济和文化更加紧密相连,
and free trade has driven the growth of many developing economies.
自由贸易促进了许多发展中国家的经济增长。
Let's go to the Thought Bubble.
我们去看“Thought Bubble”。
World trade has been growing since the end of the World War II.
自第二次世界大战结束以来,世界贸易一直在增长。
Free trade agreements and technological advances in transportation and communication
自由贸易协定与运输通讯方面的技术进步
mean goods and services move around the world more easily than ever.
让商品和服务在世界各地的流通变得前所未有的容易。
And we're talking everything. From shoes and bananas, to innovations and ideas.
我们将说到一切,从鞋子香蕉到创新创意。
Take mobile phones. Mobile phones are pretty much good for everything, including reducing poverty.
以手机为例。手机对一切都有好处,包括减少贫困。
According to economist Jeffrey Sachs,
经济学家杰弗里·萨克斯说,
mobile phones are the "single most transformative technology" when it comes to the developing world.
在发展中国家,手机是“最具革命性的技术”。
Phones give people access to banking and payment systems.
手机让人们可以使用银行和支付系统,
Better access to education and information.
更好地获得教育和信息通道。
In some places mobile phones help farmers get information
在一些地方,手机帮助农民获取信息,
and get the best price for the stuff they're producing.
并为他们生产的产品谋求最佳价格。
Installing cell phone towers is also a lot cheaper than running thousands of kilometers of telephone lines.
安装手机信号塔比安装数千公里的电话线要便宜得多。
Economists call this "leapfrogging".
经济学家称它为“跳蛙式进步”。
The idea that countries can skip straight to more efficient and cost effective technologies
这一观点认为,各国可以大跨度直接使用效率更高、成本更低的技术
that weren't available in the past.
这在过去是不可用的。
International trade has also created new opportunities for people
国际贸易也为人们创造了许多新机会,
to sell their products and labor in a global marketplace.
让他们能在全球市场销售产品和劳动力。
There are some significant downsides to globalized trade.
但全球化贸易也有一些明显的缺点。
But the statistician Hans Rosling made this point:
统计学家汉斯·罗斯林指出:
"The one to two billion poorest in the world, who don't have food for the day,
“世界上最贫穷的10到20亿人忍受着饥饿,
suffer from the worst disease: globalization deficiency.
遭受着最严重的疾病:缺乏全球化。
The way globalization is occurring could be much better,
全球化的方式可能会更好,
but the worst thing is not being part of it."
但最糟糕的是他们没有参与其中。”
Thanks, Thought Bubble.
感谢“Thought Bubble”。

trade.png

So globalization is the result of companies trying to outmaneuver their competitors.

因此,全球化是企业试图超越其竞争对手的结果。
While you search for the cheapest place to buy shoes,
当你寻找最便宜的地方买鞋时,
companies search for the cheapest place to make those shoes.
公司也在寻找最便宜的地方来制造这些鞋子。
They find the cheapest sources of leather, dye, rubber, and of course, labor.
他们寻找最便宜的皮革、染料、橡胶,当然还有劳动力。
The end result is that labor intensive products like shoes
最终结果是鞋这类劳动密集型产品
are often produced in countries with the lowest wages, and the weakest regulations.
通常在工资最低、规定最弱的国家生产。
This process creates winners and losers.
这一过程产生了输家与赢家。
The winners include corporations and their stockholders, who earn more profit,
包括公司和他们股东在内的赢家们能赚取更多的利润,
but also consumers who get products at a cheaper price.
而且消费者也能以更低的价格购买产品。
The losers are high wage workers who used to make those shoes, their jobs moved overseas.
输家是那些曾做过鞋子的高工资工人,他们的工作被转移到了海外。
But what about the low wage foreign workers? Are they winning or losing?
但是那些低工资的外国工人呢?他们是输家还是赢家?
Well, a lot of workers are thrown into hazardous working conditions,
很多工人都被扔进危险的工作环境中,
but it's also true that many workers in developing countries are at least making more money.
但是事实上,发展中国家的许多工人至少挣到了更多的钱。
These jobs pay above average wages.
这些工作的工资高于平均工资。
People want these jobs and although the pay would be unacceptable in developed countries,
人们想要这些工作,尽管它们的工资在发达国家不能被接受,
they're often the best alternative.
但仍是最好的选择。
And the multiplier effect means that more money is being spent on local businesses, so these jobs create jobs.
乘数效应意味着更多的钱将花在当地企业上,所以这些工作创造了就业机会。
According to the economist Paul Krugman
根据经济学家保罗·克鲁格曼的说法,
"The Bangladeshi apparel industry is going to consist of what we would consider sweatshops,
“孟加拉国的服装业将由我们所认为的血汗工厂组成,
or it wouldn't exist at all.
或者它根本就不存在。
And Bangladesh, in particular, really really needs its apparel industry;
孟加拉国尤为需要它的服装产业。
it's pretty much the only thing keeping its economy afloat."
它几乎是维持经济平稳运营的唯一支柱。”
But not everyone agrees.
但不是所有人都这么认为。
Opponents of globalization called outsourcing of jobs "exploitation and oppression",
全球化的反对者将工作外包称为“剥削和压迫”,
a form of economic colonialism that put profits before people.
它是一种将利润置于人民之上的经济殖民主义形式。
A few call for protectionist policies like higher tariffs and limitations on outsourcing.
一些人呼吁保护主义政策,比如提高关税和限制外包。
But others focus on the foreign workers themselves by demanding they receive higher wages and more protections.
但其他人则把重点放在了外国工人身上,要求他们获得更高的工资和更多保护。
The root of many arguments against globalization is that
许多反对全球化的争论根源在于
companies don't have to follow the same rules they do in developed countries.
公司不需要遵循发达国家的规则。
Some developing countries have no minimum wage laws.
一些发展中国家没有最低工资法。
They don't have regulations that provide safe working conditions, or protect the environment.
他们没有提供安全工作条件或保护环境的规定。
And although nearly every country banned child labor, those laws are not always enforced.
尽管几乎所有的国家都禁止童工,但这些法律并不总被强制执行。
But in the absence of regulation, it's still possible workers won't be horribly mistreated.
但在缺乏监管的情况下,工人仍有可能不会受到严重虐待。
First, public awareness is growing,
首先,公众意识正在增强,
along with pressure from the international community to take steps to protect workers.
它与国际社会压力一道要求采取措施保护工人。
For example, the U.S. produces an annual publication called "The List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor".
例如,美国每年都出版一本《由童工或强迫劳动生产的商品清单》。
If a company is buying products from that list, they're likely to get blasted by officials and the media.
如果公司购买该列表中的产品,他们可能会被官员和媒体抨击。
So awareness is the first step to improvement.
因此,意识是改善的第一步。
The second step comes from those who support globalization.
第二步来自支持全球化的人。
The pro-globalization set argued that as developing economies grow there are more opportunities for workers,
支持全球化的人士认为,随着发展中经济体的发展,工人会有更多的机会,
which leads to more competition for labor, and higher wages.
这会导致劳动力竞争增加,工资更高。
Perhaps the strongest argument against globalization is its lack of sustainability.
也许反对全球化的最有力论据是它缺乏可持续性。
Many experts don't think the planet can sustain a growing global economy.
许多专家认为地球无法维持不断增长的全球经济。
Deforestation, pollution, and climate change aren't gonna fix themselves.
森林砍伐、污染和气候变化都无法弥补自身问题。
Especially if increases in living standards lead people to demand more consumer goods
特别是生活水平的提高导致消费品增多,
like cars, and meat, and smartphones.
比如汽车、肉类和智能手机。
Globalization has helped millions of people get out of extreme poverty,
全球化帮助数百万人摆脱了极端贫困,
but the challenge of the future is to lift up the poor while at the same time keeping the planet livable.
但未来的挑战是,保持地球宜居的同时,提升贫困人口的生活水平。
One of the best ways to help those in extreme poverty is to enable them to participate in the economy.
帮助极端贫困人口的一个最好办法是让他们参与到经济中来。
This applies to developing countries in the global marketplace, but also to individuals at the local level.
这适用于全球市场中的发展中国家,也适用于地区级别的个体。
A perfect example is microcredit.
一个完美例子就是小额信贷。
In 2006 a Bangladeshi professor named Muhammad Yunus
2006年,一位名叫穆罕默德·尤努斯孟加拉教授
won the Nobel Peace Prize for implementing a simple idea.
因实现了一个简单概念获得诺贝尔和平奖,
He gave small loans, on average around 100 dollars, to low-income people in rural areas.
他向农村低收入群体发放了平均约100美元的小额贷款。
The borrowers, who are mostly female, often used the money to fund plans that could raise their income.
这些借款人大多是女性,她们经常把这些钱投入到提高收入的经济计划中。
For example, they started small businesses.
例如,他们创办了小型企业。
"Microcredit was a success and has since spread to developing countries throughout the world.
“小额信贷取得了成功,并已扩散到世界各地的发展中国家。
Private lenders, governments, and nonprofit organizations have jumped onboard
私人贷款机构、政府和非营利性组织也纷纷加入其中,
to loan billions of dollars to the world's most disadvantaged."
向世界上最贫困的国家提供数十亿美元的贷款。”
By itself, microcredit isn't going to solve the problem of extreme poverty,
小额信贷本身并不能解决极端贫困的问题,
but it supports the idea that enabling people to participate in the economy can make their lives better.
但它支持这样一种观点,即让人们参与经济可以改善生活。
Yunus explains "In my experience, poor people are the world's greatest entrepreneurs.
尤努斯解释说:“根据我的经验,穷人是世界上最伟大的企业家。
Every day, they must innovate in order to survive.
为了生存,他们每天都必须创新。
They remain poor because they do not have the opportunities to turn their creativity into sustainable income."
他们贫穷是因为他们没有机会把创造力转化为可持续收入。”
Microcredit, when it works, allows people to improve their lives by participating in the economy on their own terms.
小额信贷运作允许人们以自己的方式参与经济,来改善他们的生活。
But we can't forget, a lot of people who participate in the global economy aren't doing it on their own terms.
但我们不能忘了,许多参与全球经济的人并没有按照自己的意愿行事。
Many of the people who emerged from extreme poverty in the last 25 years
在过去的25年里,许多摆脱极端贫困的人
have jobs, wages, and working conditions that would be unthinkable in the developed world.
有了工作、工资和在发达国家看来过分的工作条件。
Economists say that's okay, it's progress, but it's progress that's awfully hard to stomach.
经济学家说,没关系,这是进步,但这是一种非常难以忍受的进步。
Thanks for watching, we'll see you next week.
感谢您的收看,我们下周见。
Crash Course Economics was made with the help of all these nice people.
经济速成班是由这群好心人制作的。
You can support Crash Course at Patreon,
你可以支持Patreon的速成课程,
where you can help keep Crash Course free for everyone forever, and get great rewards.
让它们向所有人永远免费开放,
Thanks for watching, and DFTBA.
感谢您的收看,做个了不起的人!

重点单词   查看全部解释    
leather ['leðə]

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n. 皮革,皮制品
adj. 皮革制的

 
complicated ['kɔmplikeitid]

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adj. 复杂的,难懂的
动词complica

 
understand [.ʌndə'stænd]

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vt. 理解,懂,听说,获悉,将 ... 理解为,认为<

 
demanding [di'mændiŋ]

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adj. 要求多的,吃力的

 
planet ['plænit]

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n. 行星

 
mortality [mɔ:'tæliti]

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n. 必死的命运,死亡数目,死亡率

联想记忆
unacceptable ['ʌnək'septəbl]

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adj. 不能接受的,不受欢迎的

 
communication [kə.mju:ni'keiʃn]

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n. 沟通,交流,通讯,传达,通信

 
severe [si'viə]

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adj. 剧烈的,严重的,严峻的,严厉的,严格的

联想记忆
improvement [im'pru:vmənt]

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n. 改进,改善

 

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