中国国企模式值得西方借鉴

 Economic policymaking in the west has developed in radical¹ ways since the global financial crisis. When Lehman Brothers collapsed² in 2008, the US after some hesitation³ allowed the Federal Reserve to intervene in the markets. Afterwards, the European Central Bank did the same in response to the sovereign debt crisis in Greece and other EU states.

全球金融危机爆发以后，西方在制定经济政策方面趋向激进。2008年雷曼兄弟(Lehman Brothers)破产后，美国只犹豫了一阵，就允许美联储(Fed)干预市场。之后欧洲央行(ECB)也如法炮制，以类似手段应对希腊及其他欧盟(EU)国家的主权债务危机。

Since then, quantitative⁴ easing has had a real impact on western markets. So-called helicopter drops are now in vogue⁵, and negative interest rates have gained acceptance in spite of widespread anxiety about their unknown effects. The fashion for unconventional monetary⁶ policy was highlighted yesterday with the ECB’s decision to cut interest rates in the eurozone to a record low and to expand its quantitative easing package.

从那以来，量化宽松对西方市场产生了切实的影响。所谓的“直升机撒钱”大行其道。负利率的未知影响尽管引起广泛焦虑，也还是为人们所接受。上周四欧洲央行将欧元区利率降到历史新低，并扩大一揽子量化宽松措施，凸显了非常规货币政策的盛行。

But there are other ways of stimulating⁷ demand. Why, for instance, do western governments refuse to set up state-owned enterprises that will create jobs? Are they really so much worse than QE and low or negative interest rates?

但是，要刺激需求还有其他方式。比如说，西方国家政府为何不愿设立能够创造就业的国有企业？国有企业真的比量化宽松或者低利率乃至负利率糟糕得多吗？

A number of concerns surround the state sector⁸. First, it is less efficient than private businesses. But when private investment falls well below a desired level, the state should step in to fill the gap. In any case, it is debatable whether state-run enterprises are less efficient than welfare spending, direct subsidies⁹, QE or negative interest rates.

人们对国有企业抱着各种担忧。首先，国有企业的效率比不上私营企业。但当私人投资远低于所希望的水平时，国家应该介入以填补缺口。无论如何，国有企业是否真的比福利支出、直接补贴、量化宽松或者负利率这些政策更低效还值得商榷。

Second, will investment by the state sector necessarily displace (or “crowd out”, as economists¹⁰ like to say) the private sector? Evidence is mixed. In some cases, this may happen if the state competes with private companies for financing, pushing up borrowing costs. But the west today does not have to worry about that, since it is sliding into a zero-interest rate environment.

第二，国有部门的投资是否一定会替代（或者经济学家们喜欢用“挤出”这个词）私有部门的投资？正反面的证据都有。在某些情况下，如果国有企业和私营企业竞争融资，推高了借贷成本，这种情况的确可能发生。但眼下西方无需担忧这个问题，因为西方正滑向零利率环境。

Moreover, evidence from around the world suggests that the state sector supports the operation of the private sector. It can even help to incubate new private industries by providing “patient capital” and basic infrastructure¹¹, as well as physical facilities.

此外，来自世界各地的证据表明，国有部门为私营部门的运行提供支持。况且，通过提供“有耐心的资本”(patient capital)、基本的基础设施以及实物设备，国有部门甚至会帮助孵化新的私营产业。

There is not much that China can teach the rest of the world about economic policy. Nevertheless, its experience in the past century or so can be a useful reference point for policymakers.

在经济政策方面，中国可教给世界其他地区的不多。然而，中国一个多世纪以来积累的经验可以为政策制定者提供有用的参考。

In 1911, at the end of the empire, China adopted capitalism¹² but the experiment failed. The Nationalist government was pushed out to Taiwan 38 years later and China embarked¹³ on a disastrous¹⁴ communist path.

1911年，在帝制瓦解后，中国采取了资本主义，但这场实验失败了。38年后，国民党政府被赶到了台湾，中国大陆走上了多灾多难的共产主义道路。

Following the death of Mao Zedong in 1976, the ideological¹⁵ pendulum¹⁶ swung back towards capitalism and the country settled on a mixed economy.

1976年毛泽东去世以后，意识形态钟摆再度摆向了资本主义，中国选择了混合制经济。

Today about two-thirds of China’s economy is still state-controlled. And, while it is debatable whether a smaller state sector would be more desirable, the chances are that the dominance of state-run enterprises will continue for the foreseeable future.

今天，国有经济在中国经济中依然占三分之二左右。尽管人们还在争论，是否收缩国有部门更可取，但在可预见的未来，国有企业仍将继续占主导地位。

If a referendum were to take place in China today on the relative merits of both sectors¹⁷, I suspect a vast majority would favour the state, despite widespread public dissatisfaction with state-owned companies.

如果今天在中国就国有部门和私有部门的各自优点举行一场全民公投，我估计，尽管公众对国有企业普遍感到不满，绝大多数人还是会支持国有企业。

There is a social dimension here, too. Welfare spending and helicopter drops do not offer the satisfaction that flows to a workforce¹⁸ gainfully employed in the state sector.

这里面也存在一个社会层面的因素。像国有部门职工所获得的那种满意度，福利支出和直升机撒钱这些方式是无法提供的。

Staunch defenders¹⁹ of the free market are suspicious of SOEs on the grounds that they entrench²⁰ corruption²¹. This is a legitimate²² concern but one that can be mitigated²³ by controlling the size of the state sector in a climate of public scrutiny²⁴.

自由市场之拥趸对国有企业抱着怀疑态度，理由是国有企业会滋生腐败。这种担忧是合理的，但是，通过实行公共监督、控制国有部门的规模，是可以缓解这种担忧的。

It remains²⁵ true, too, that state-owned enterprises can supplement a dominant²⁶ private sector and, arguably, correct market failures at least as efficiently²⁷ as the policy instruments that at present are favoured by western governments.

有一点依然毋庸置疑：在私有部门占主导的情况下，国有企业能够对私有部门起到补充作用；也可以认为，对于纠正市场失灵，国有企业至少和当前西方国家政府所好的那些政策工具一样有效。

 

1 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

2 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

3 hesitation   

n.犹豫，踌躇

参考例句：

• After a long hesitation, he told the truth at last.踌躇了半天，他终于直说了。
• There was a certain hesitation in her manner.她的态度有些犹豫不决。

4 quantitative   

adj.数量的，定量的

参考例句：

• He said it was only a quantitative difference.他说这仅仅是数量上的差别。
• We need to do some quantitative analysis of the drugs.我们对药物要进行定量分析。

5 Vogue   

n.时髦，时尚；adj.流行的

参考例句：

• Flowery carpets became the vogue.花卉地毯变成了时髦货。
• Short hair came back into vogue about ten years ago.大约十年前短发又开始流行起来了。

6 monetary   

adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的

参考例句：

• The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

7 stimulating   

adj.有启发性的，能激发人思考的

参考例句：

• shower gel containing plant extracts that have a stimulating effect on the skin 含有对皮肤有益的植物精华的沐浴凝胶
• This is a drug for stimulating nerves. 这是一种兴奋剂。

8 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

9 subsidies   

n.补贴，津贴，补助金( subsidy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• European agriculture ministers failed to break the deadlock over farm subsidies. 欧洲各国农业部长在农业补贴问题上未能打破僵局。
• Agricultural subsidies absorb about half the EU's income. 农业补贴占去了欧盟收入的大约一半。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

12 capitalism   

n.资本主义

参考例句：

• The essence of his argument is that capitalism cannot succeed.他的论点的核心是资本主义不能成功。
• Capitalism began to develop in Russia in the 19th century.十九世纪资本主义在俄国开始发展。

13 embarked   

乘船( embark的过去式和过去分词 )； 装载； 从事

参考例句：

• We stood on the pier and watched as they embarked. 我们站在突码头上目送他们登船。
• She embarked on a discourse about the town's origins. 她开始讲本市的起源。

14 disastrous   

adj.灾难性的，造成灾害的；极坏的，很糟的

参考例句：

• The heavy rainstorm caused a disastrous flood.暴雨成灾。
• Her investment had disastrous consequences.She lost everything she owned.她的投资结果很惨，血本无归。

15 ideological   

a.意识形态的

参考例句：

• He always tries to link his study with his ideological problems. 他总是把学习和自己的思想问题联系起来。
• He helped me enormously with advice on how to do ideological work. 他告诉我怎样做思想工作，对我有很大帮助。

16 pendulum   

n.摆，钟摆

参考例句：

• The pendulum swung slowly to and fro.钟摆在慢慢地来回摆动。
• He accidentally found that the desk clock did not swing its pendulum.他无意中发现座钟不摇摆了。

17 sectors   

n.部门( sector的名词复数 )；领域；防御地区；扇形

参考例句：

• Berlin was divided into four sectors after the war. 战后柏林分成了4 个区。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Industry and agriculture are the two important sectors of the national economy. 工业和农业是国民经济的两个重要部门。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

18 workforce   

n.劳动大军，劳动力

参考例句：

• A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。
• A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。

19 defenders   

n.防御者( defender的名词复数 )；守卫者；保护者；辩护者

参考例句：

• The defenders were outnumbered and had to give in. 抵抗者寡不敌众，只能投降。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• After hard fighting,the defenders were still masters of the city. 守军经过奋战仍然控制着城市。 来自《简明英汉词典》

20 entrench   

v.使根深蒂固；n.壕沟；防御设施

参考例句：

• A series of measures were designed to entrench democracy and the rule of law.采取一系列措施旨在巩固民主和法制。
• These dictators have entrenched themselves politically and are difficult to move.这些独裁者在政治上已经站稳了脚跟，很难推翻他们。

21 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

22 legitimate   

adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法

参考例句：

• Sickness is a legitimate reason for asking for leave.生病是请假的一个正当的理由。
• That's a perfectly legitimate fear.怀有这种恐惧完全在情理之中。

23 mitigated   

v.减轻，缓和( mitigate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The cost of getting there is mitigated by Sydney's offer of a subsidy. 由于悉尼提供补助金，所以到那里的花费就减少了。 来自辞典例句
• The living conditions were slightly mitigated. 居住条件稍有缓解。 来自辞典例句

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 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

26 dominant   

adj.支配的，统治的；占优势的；显性的；n.主因，要素，主要的人(或物)；显性基因

参考例句：

• The British were formerly dominant in India.英国人从前统治印度。
• She was a dominant figure in the French film industry.她在法国电影界是个举足轻重的人物。

27 efficiently   

adv.高效率地，有能力地

参考例句：

• The worker oils the machine to operate it more efficiently.工人给机器上油以使机器运转更有效。
• Local authorities have to learn to allocate resources efficiently.地方政府必须学会有效地分配资源。