2023年经济学人 为什么经济学不能理解商业(1)

 

 

    Finance & economics

    财经版块

    Why economics does not understand business为什么经济学不能理解商业

    It is the mid-1990s and the economics faculty¹ at a leading business school is meeting.

    那是上世纪90年代中期，一所顶尖商学院的经济学全体教员正在开会。

    The assembled dons are in a prickly mood.

    聚集在一起的教师们怀着一种愠怒情绪。

    Many are upset that business-school fields, such as marketing² and organisational behaviour, enjoy a higher standing³ despite their apparent lack of rigour.

    让其中许多人很不高兴的是，商学院的领域，如市场营销和组织行为学，尽管显然缺乏严谨性，却享有更高的地位。

    That economics ought to command more respect is keenly felt.

    他们深以为经济学应该得到更多的尊重。

    One professor can barely contain his scorn.

    一位教授几乎无法抑制他的蔑视之意。

    Anyone with a good PhD in economics, he declares, could comfortably teach in any of the school's other departments.

    他宣称，任何拥有经济学博士学位的人都可以轻轻松松地在学院的其他任何系任教。

    It is tempting⁴ to see this as a story about the arrogance⁵ of economists⁷.

    人们很容易认为这是关于傲慢的经济学家的故事。

    And in part, it is.

    在某种程度上，确实如此。

    The discipline's imperialism--its tendency to claim the territory of fields adjacent to economics as its own--is a bugbear of social scientists.

    这门学科的帝国主义 -- 将与经济学相邻的领域据为己有的倾向 -- 一直令社会科学家头疼。

    Yet the professor had a point.

    但这位教授说得有道理。

    In the 1990s economics could plausibly⁸ claim to be moving towards a unified⁹ science of business.

    在上世纪90年代，经济学似乎可以说正在向一门统一的商业科学迈进。

    A realistic theory of the firm was in prospect¹⁰.

    关于公司的现实理论有望形成。

    Alas¹¹, three decades on, it is no closer.

    唉，三十年过去了，还差得远呢。

    Economics has rich models of competition and markets.

    经济学有丰富的竞争模型和市场模型。

    But its powers still tend to falter¹² once inside the factory gate or office building.

    但一旦进入工厂大门或办公楼，它的力量还是会衰弱。

    It is worth asking why.

    其中原因值得一问。

    Economics is--or at least is supposed to be--about the allocation of scarce resources.

    经济学是 -- 或者至少应该是 -- 关乎稀缺资源的配置的。

    In neoclassical theory, markets take centre stage.

    在新古典主义理论中，市场占据中心舞台。

    The factors of production (land, labour and capital) and the supply and demand of goods and services move in response to price signals from market exchange.

    生产要素(土地、劳动力和资本)以及商品和服务的供求根据市场交换的价格信号而变化。

    Resources go to the most profitable use. That is the theory.

    资源被用于最有利可图的用途。理论就是这样。

    It has a glaring omission¹³, as Ronald Coase, an economist⁶, pointed¹⁴ out in a paper in 1937.

    正如经济学家罗纳德·科斯在1937年的一篇论文中所指出的，这一理论有一个明显的疏漏。

    Much of the allocation of resources in economies occurs not in markets but within firms.

    经济活动中的大部分资源配置不是在市场中进行的，而是在公司内部进行。

    The prime movers are employees.

    主要推动者是员工。

    They are directed not by price signals but by administrative¹⁵ fiat¹⁶.

    他们不受价格信号指导，而受行政命令指导。

    The theory that firms are profit-maximisers is another clash with reality.

    "企业是利润最大化者"这一理论是与现实的另一个矛盾。

    They operate in a fog of ignorance and error, noted¹⁷ Herbert Simon, a pioneer of artificial intelligence and decision sciences.

    人工智能和决策科学的先驱赫伯特·西蒙指出，企业在无知和差错的迷雾中运作。

    No business could process all the information needed to extract maximum profit.

    没有企业能处理获取最大利润所需的所有信息。

    Instead firms operate under conditions of "bounded rationality", making decisions that are satisfactory rather than optimal¹⁸.

    公司在"有限理性"的条件下运作，做出令人满意的而非最优的决策。

    For years, economics did little to advance along the lines drawn¹⁹ by Coase and Simon.

    多年来，在科斯和西蒙划出的路线上，经济学几乎没有太多进展。

    As late as 1972, Coase complained that his paper on the nature of the firm was "much cited and little used".

    直到1972年，科斯还抱怨说，他关于公司本质的论文"被引用的倒多，被使用的却很少"。

    Yet almost as soon as Coase lamented²⁰ its absence, a body of rigorous research on the firm began to emerge.

    然而，几乎就在科斯哀叹没有相关研究之后，关于公司的大量严谨研究立刻开始出现。

    It proceeded to flourish over the course of the following two decades.

    在接下来的二十年里，这方面的研究继续蓬勃发展。

    A key pillar of this research is the idea of the firm as the co-ordinator of team production, where each team member's contribution cannot be separated from the others.

    这种研究的一个关键支柱是认为公司是团队生产的协调者，每个成员的贡献不能与其他成员的分开。

    Team output requires a hierarchy²¹ to delegate tasks, monitor effort and to reward people accordingly.

    团队产出需要一个等级制度来委派任务、监控工作并相应地奖励员工。

    This in turn needs a different kind of arrangement.

    这继而需要一种不同的安排。

    In market transactions, goods are exchanged for money, the deal is done and there is little scope for dispute.

    在市场交易中，商品用钱来交换，交易完成，过程中几乎没有争议的余地。

    But because of bounded rationality, it is not possible in business to set down in advance all that is required of each party in every possible circumstance.

    但由于有限理性，在商业活动中，不可能预先定下在每一种可能出现的情况中对各方的所有要求。

    A firm's contracts with its employees are by necessity "incomplete".

    一家公司与其员工的合同必然是"不完整的"。

    They are sustained by trust and, ultimately, by the threat of breakdown²², which is costly²³ to all parties.

    合同靠信任维持，最根本的是靠合同破裂的可能性维持，合同一旦破裂，各方都要付出代价。

1 faculty   

n.才能；学院，系；(学院或系的)全体教学人员

参考例句：

• He has a great faculty for learning foreign languages.他有学习外语的天赋。
• He has the faculty of saying the right thing at the right time.他有在恰当的时候说恰当的话的才智。

2 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

3 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

4 tempting   

a.诱人的, 吸引人的

参考例句：

• It is tempting to idealize the past. 人都爱把过去的日子说得那么美好。
• It was a tempting offer. 这是个诱人的提议。

5 arrogance   

n.傲慢，自大

参考例句：

• His arrogance comes out in every speech he makes.他每次讲话都表现得骄傲自大。
• Arrogance arrested his progress.骄傲阻碍了他的进步。

6 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

7 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》

8 plausibly   

似真地

参考例句：

• The case was presented very plausibly. 案情的申述似很可信。
• He argued very plausibly for its acceptance. 他为使之认可辩解得头头是道。

9 unified   

(unify 的过去式和过去分词)； 统一的； 统一标准的； 一元化的

参考例句：

• The teacher unified the answer of her pupil with hers. 老师核对了学生的答案。
• The First Emperor of Qin unified China in 221 B.C. 秦始皇于公元前221年统一中国。

10 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

11 alas   

int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等)

参考例句：

• Alas!The window is broken!哎呀！窗子破了！
• Alas,the truth is less romantic.然而，真理很少带有浪漫色彩。

12 falter   

vi.(嗓音)颤抖，结巴地说；犹豫；蹒跚

参考例句：

• His voice began to falter.他的声音开始发颤。
• As he neared the house his steps faltered.当他走近房子时，脚步迟疑了起来。

13 omission   

n.省略，删节；遗漏或省略的事物，冗长

参考例句：

• The omission of the girls was unfair.把女孩排除在外是不公平的。
• The omission of this chapter from the third edition was a gross oversight.第三版漏印这一章是个大疏忽。

14 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

15 administrative   

adj.行政的，管理的

参考例句：

• The administrative burden must be lifted from local government.必须解除地方政府的行政负担。
• He regarded all these administrative details as beneath his notice.他认为行政管理上的这些琐事都不值一顾。

16 fiat   

n.命令，法令，批准；vt.批准，颁布

参考例句：

• The opening of a market stall is governed by municipal fiat.开设市场摊位受市政法令管制。
• He has tried to impose solutions to the country's problems by fiat.他试图下令强行解决该国的问题。

17 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

18 optimal   

adj.最适宜的；最理想的；最令人满意的

参考例句：

• What is the optimal mix of private and public property rights in natural resources?私人和国家的自然资源产权的最适宜的组合是什么？
• Optimal path planning is a key link for the sailing contest.帆船最优行驶路径规划是帆船比赛取胜的关键环节。

19 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

20 lamented   

adj.被哀悼的，令人遗憾的v.（为…）哀悼，痛哭，悲伤( lament的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• her late lamented husband 她那令人怀念的已故的丈夫
• We lamented over our bad luck. 我们为自己的不幸而悲伤。 来自《简明英汉词典》

21 hierarchy   

n.等级制度；统治集团，领导层

参考例句：

• There is a rigid hierarchy of power in that country.那个国家有一套严密的权力等级制度。
• She's high up in the management hierarchy.她在管理阶层中地位很高。

22 breakdown   

n.垮，衰竭；损坏，故障，倒塌

参考例句：

• She suffered a nervous breakdown.她患神经衰弱。
• The plane had a breakdown in the air,but it was fortunately removed by the ace pilot.飞机在空中发生了故障，但幸运的是被王牌驾驶员排除了。

23 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。