Structural reform in southern Europe
南欧的结构性改革
Patchy progress
进展参差不齐
Some signs of improvement. Must try harder
改革小有成效，同志仍需努力
CYPRUS is suffering a vicious recession as it struggles to adjust after a huge banking crisis. Despite its ailing economy a cab ride from the airport at Larnaca to Nicosia—a journey that takes around 40 minutes—costs 50. Such high fares, reflecting the power of the taxi trade, hinder the country's attempts to rekindle its tourist industry.
银行业大危机之后，塞浦路斯陷入恶性经济衰退，调整步伐举步维艰。尽管经济疲软，从机场到尼科西亚一段40分钟左右的的士车程却高达50欧元。如此高价折射了的士业界的力量，从而阻碍了塞浦路斯重振旅游业的种种努力。
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Reforms to tackle these kinds of uncompetitive markets are vital if the beleaguered countries of southern Europe are to be able to survive in the euro area. By making wages and prices more flexible, they allow countries like Spain and Portugal that have lost competitiveness to regain it even though they can no longer devalue against their euro-zone trading partners. They also hold out the promise of higher growth, which is vital if they are to shrug off heavy debt burdens. Four years after the euro crisis began with the first Greek bail-out, what has been achieved?
如果陷入困境的南欧国家想要在欧元区内生存下去，解决这类竞争力缺乏的改革至关重要。虽然像西班牙和葡萄牙这类失去竞争力的国家不能再对欧元区贸易伙伴贬值，但只要通过更为灵活的工资和价格，它们就可以恢复竞争力。这些国家还承诺取得更高的增长，这对摆脱沉重债务至关重要。以希腊首次救市开始的欧债危机过去四年后，它们的成果如何？
Assessing the scale and effectiveness of reforms is hard, not least since they tackle a multitude of sins. There are three main categories: enhancing competition, especially in services; promoting business activity rather than stifling it; and overhauling labour markets. In practice a determined effort to improve performance involves reforms across government. In Portugal, for example, 400 measures have been introduced in the past three years.
由于涉及层面纷繁复杂，评估改革的规模和效益非常困难。改革主要涉及三大方面：提高竞争力，特别是服务业的竞争力；促进，而非扼杀，商业活动；对劳动力市场全面改进。在实践中，各国提高经济表现的坚定努力还包括了整个政府的改革。例如，过去三年在葡萄牙就有400个新措施出台。
One gauge of progress in southern Europe is the World Bank's “Doing Business” survey. This annual study, covering over 180 economies, monitors regulation from the perspective of small and medium-sized companies. Its overall index has ten components, ranging from the ease of founding a company to how readily contracts can be enforced. Countries are ranked according to how light the burden of regulation is, as measured by the number of procedures involved and their cost. Other factors include how easily firms can access credit and how well they protect outside investors. A lack of regulation is not deemed a strength; rather the focus is on efficient regulation.
世界银行的“营商环境报告”的调查是南欧国家的进展的衡量之一。这项年度研究从中小型企业的角度监测政府管制，范围涵盖超过180个经济体。其整体指数由十部分组成，包括创办公司和执行合同的难易程度。政府管制由这些活动所涉及的程序和成本数量构成，各个国家据此排名。其他因素还包括企业取得信贷的难易程度以及他们保护外部投资者的能力。这项研究的聚焦点在于有效监管——政府监管制度的缺乏并未被视作可取之处。
The findings suggest that progress has been made in southern Europe but that it has been patchy both between different countries and within them. Between mid-2009, before the euro crisis took hold, and mid-2013 Greece's rank improved from 109 to 72. Portugal has also gained ground, from 48 to 31. Advances by Italy and Spain have been less marked, and France has actually slipped down the rankings, from 31 to 38.
研究结果表明，南欧改革已经小有成效，但在不同国家，以及同一国家的不同地区之间，进展参差不齐。在欧元危机爆发前的2009年中期和2013年中期之间，希腊的排名从109上升到了72。 葡萄牙也有所斩获，从48上升到了31。意大利和西班牙则差强人意，而法国则干脆从31下降到了38名。
Even where progress has been made there is cause for concern. Greece may have improved its ranking the most, but that was from a desperately poor starting-point. Its current performance remains extremely disappointing within some crucial categories. It ranked 161st in the world as a place to register property easily, a handicap for a country urgently needing to encourage inward investment. Another concern is its 98th-place finish for the ease of enforcing contracts, a crucial condition for firms to flourish.
即使在小有成效的国家，情况也令人担忧。尽管希腊在排名上进步喜人，但是其起点却是出奇的低。在一些关键的方面，它的表现依旧极其令人失望。在登记财产的难易程度方面，希腊仅排全球第106位，而这是一个迫切需要鼓励外来投资的国家的掣肘。还叫人忧心忡忡的是，执行合同的难易程度是企业蓬勃发展的关键之一，其排名仅居全球第98名。
Such patchiness is widespread. The mountain that Matteo Renzi, Italy's new prime minister, must climb is clear from his country's performance. Its overall rank is dismal enough, at 65. But Italy is even farther down the league table for the tax burden on businesses; ease of getting construction permits; credit access; and enforcing contracts . Spain ranks particularly poorly as a place to start a business, at 142. That is a worry because research has established a strong link, unsurprisingly, between the regulatory ease of starting a business and how many are actually set up.
这种进展参差不齐的问题广泛存在。从意大利的表现来看，其新任总理利玛窦壬兹任重而道远。意大利的整体表现可谓惨淡，仅居65位；而在企业赋税，取得施工许可，获取信贷和执行合同方面的排名则更为糟糕。西班牙在创办公司指标的表现尤其糟糕。研究已经毫无悬念地指出，创业监管难易度和新企业数量之间联系紧密，因此如此情形令人担心。
The World Bank's index does not include the impact on firms of employment regulations. But other evidence suggests similarly patchy progress on labour-market reforms in southern Europe. Despite overhauls in Portugal and Spain, southern Europe still suffers from bifurcated markets, in which the gap between “insiders” on cosy, permanent contracts and “outsiders” employed on a temporary basis is particularly pronounced. With so much yet to be done it is worrying that the pace of reform already seems to be slackening.
世界银行的指标并不包括就业法规对企业的影响。但其他证据表明了，南欧劳动力市场的改革同样参差不齐。尽管在葡萄牙和西班牙对劳动力市场的改革可谓大刀阔斧，南欧市场依旧苦于分化严重，特别是一方面“自己人“高枕稳定的长期合同，而另一方面”外来人“雇佣于临时合同，差距尤为显著。由于未来依旧任重而道远，目前已经放缓的改革步伐叫人忧心忡忡。 |