Finance and Economics；Free exchange；The law and the poor;
财经；自由交流；法律与穷人；

Courts in emerging markets are better for the poor than many assume;
新兴市场国家的法院对待穷人时并不是许多人所想的那样糟糕;

In December India's cabinet approved a “right to food” bill that would give two-thirds of the population a right—supposedly enforceable in law—to cheap food. Parliament must still give its approval, but the idea is part of a trend. Indian law already promises the right to education, health and paid work. And India is one of many countries that incorporate social and economic rights into their constitutions, and use the courts to enforce those rights. Indonesia's Constitutional Court issued rulings in 2004-06 requiring the government to boost education spending. South Africa's highest court obliged a reluctant president, Thabo Mbeki, to launch various anti-HIV/AIDS programmes.
印度内阁去年12月通过了一项名为“食品权”的议案，将赋予该国三分之二的人口以获取廉价食品的权利。尽管该议案的最终实施还需要经过议会批准，但是其想法体现了印度国内的政策趋势。目前，印度已经通过相关法律保障人们接受教育、享有健康和参加工作的权利。另外，印度也是将社会权利和经济权利写入宪法的国家之一，并通过法院保障权利的行使。另一亚洲新兴市场国家印度尼西亚的立宪法院曾于2004年6月作出裁定，要求政府加大对教育的支持力度。而在南非，最高法院曾经迫使总统姆贝基接受他曾不情愿开展的多个对抗艾滋病的项目。

Using the law as an instrument of social policy might seem perverse. Until now the balance of academic opinion has been that the courts do little to help the poor. In theory, the law is not supposed to discriminate in anyone's favour. In practice, the rich tend to do well in the courts because the poor cannot afford to go to law themselves (they rely on cases brought by others); because the law is said to favour property owners; and because, as Anatole France, a French novelist, sardonically put it, “The majestic equality of the laws prohibits the rich and the poor alike from sleeping under bridges, begging in the streets and stealing bread.”
将法律作为一种社会政策手段听起来似乎有些荒谬。到目前为止，学术界的主流看法是法院在帮助穷人方面几乎毫无建树。理论上，法律不应该区别对待不同的个人或者群体，但实际上，富人通常能在法庭上获得更有利的结果。究其原因，首先是穷人常常因为无力承担相关诉讼费用而不能主动地利用法律；其次，法律也被认为更有利于财产拥有者。法国小说家Anatole France不无讽刺地说道：“崇高的法律公平地禁止富人和穷人在桥下留宿、上街乞讨和偷窃面包。”

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