2023年经济学人 兴奋剂对经济增长的作用(1)

 

 

    Finance & economics

    财经版块

    Buzzkill

    无法兴奋

    What a shortage of Adderall means for economic growth阿德拉药品短缺对经济增长意味着什么

    Towards the end of last year America began running short of medicines used to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder¹ (ADHD), including Adderall (an amphetamine) and Ritalin (a central-nervous-system stimulant).

    去年年底，美国用于治疗注意力缺陷多动障碍的药物开始短缺，其中包括阿德拉(一种苯丙胺)和利他林(一种中枢神经系统兴奋剂)。

    Nine in ten pharmacies² reported shortages of the medication, which tens of millions of Americans use to help improve focus and concentration.

    十分之九的药店报告称这些药物短缺，而数千万美国人使用这些药物来帮助提高注意力。

    Around the same time, something intriguing³ happened: American productivity, a measure of efficiency at work, dropped.

    大约在同一时间，一些耐人寻味的事情发生了：在美国，衡量工作效率的生产率下降了。

    In the first quarter of 2023, output per hour fell by 3%.

    2023年第一季度，每小时产出下降了3%。

    Coincidence? Probably. Lots of other things could have explained the productivity dip.

    这是巧合吗？有可能。很多其他因素可以解释生产率下降。

    Equally, though, many of America’s most productive people rely on Adderall to get the job done.

    但是，美国效率最高的许多人也靠服用阿德拉来完成工作。

    It often seems like half of Silicon⁴ Valley, the most innovative⁵ place on Earth, is on the stuff.

    硅谷是地球上最具创新力的地方，硅谷一半的人似乎都在服用这些药品。

    And surprising things can cause GDP to rise and fall, including holidays, strikes and the weather.

    还有一些令人意想不到的事情也可能会导致GDP的起伏，包括假期、罢工和天气。

    What’s more, the economic history is clear: without things that give people a buzz, the world would still be in the economic dark ages.

    此外更重要的是，经济史很清楚地表明，如果没有让人们感到兴奋的东西，世界仍将处于经济黑暗时代。

    Not all drug consumption helps people work better, of course.

    当然，服用药物并不总能帮助人们更好地工作。

    Don Draper from “Mad Men”, a TV series about advertising⁶ executives in the 1960s, came across many of his finest ideas three Scotches⁷ deep.

    《广告狂人》是一部讲述20世纪60年代广告业高管的电视剧，主角唐·德雷柏很多最妙的点子都是在喝了三杯威士忌之后想出来的。

    But contrary to popular belief Ernest Hemingway, one of America’s greatest authors, never advised “write drunk, edit sober”, preferring to write liquor-free.

    但与人们普遍以为的相反，美国最伟大的作家之一欧内斯特·海明威从来不建议“醉酒写作，清醒编辑”，他更喜欢在写作的时候不喝酒。

    In a book published in 1983 David Ogilvy, perhaps the most famous real-life mad man, warned of the dangers of drunks in the office.

    在1983年出版的一本书中，大卫·奥格维（他也许是现实中最著名的广告狂人）对办公室酒鬼的危险发出了警告。

    Use of cocaine⁸, common on Wall Street and in Hollywood, can give people a short-term boost.

    服用可卡因在华尔街和好莱坞很常见，可卡因可以引起短期兴奋。

    It also causes grave long-term problems.

    但也会造成严重的长期问题。

    Indeed, economists⁹ normally think of mood-altering substances as a drag on prosperity.

    事实上，经济学家通常认为，能改变情绪的物质会拖累经济繁荣。

    One estimate in 2007 put the cost of drug abuse in America at $193bn, or around 1.3% of GDP.

    2007年的一项估计显示，美国因滥用药物而造成的损失高达1930亿美元，约占GDP的1.3%。

    More recently economists have looked at “deaths of despair”, which many link to abuse of opioids.

    最近，经济学家研究了“绝望之死”，许多人认为这与滥用阿片类药物有关。

    In 2021 more than 80,000 Americans died from opioid overdoses.

    2021年，超过8万美国人死于阿片类药物服用过量。

    But stimulants¹⁰ can play a positive role, too.

    但兴奋剂也可以起到积极的作用。

    Consider two of them: sugar and coffee.

    想想这两种兴奋剂：糖和咖啡。

    The first allowed people to work harder; the second allowed them to work smarter.

    糖让人们能更努力地工作，咖啡让人们能更聪明地工作。

    Until the start of the 18th century calories were a significant constraint¹¹ on Western economic growth.

    直到18世纪初，卡路里一直是制约西方经济增长的重要因素。

    In 1700 total food supply per person in Britain was equivalent to around 2,000 calories a day—enough for the average man to survive, but not to do a great deal more.

    1700年，英国每人每天的食物供应总量约为2000卡路里，这足够让普通人活下来，但不够让人们去做更多的事情。

    Workers were therefore inefficient¹².

    因此，工人的工作效率很低。

    Many of the poor, who survived on even more meagre diets, barely had the energy to move, let alone do anything useful.

    许多穷人吃着更少更差的食物度日，他们几乎连走动的力气都没有，更不用说去做什么有用的事情了。

1 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。

2 pharmacies   

药店

参考例句：

• Still, 32 percent of the pharmacies filled the prescriptions. 但仍然有32%的药剂师配发了这两张药方。 来自互联网
• Chinese herbal pharmacies, and traditional massage therapists in the Vancouver telephone book. 中药店，和传统的按摩师在温哥华的电话簿里。 来自互联网

3 intriguing   

adj.有趣的；迷人的v.搞阴谋诡计(intrigue的现在分词)；激起…的好奇心

参考例句：

• These discoveries raise intriguing questions. 这些发现带来了非常有趣的问题。
• It all sounds very intriguing. 这些听起来都很有趣。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 silicon   

n.硅(旧名矽)

参考例句：

• This company pioneered the use of silicon chip.这家公司开创了使用硅片的方法。
• A chip is a piece of silicon about the size of a postage stamp.芯片就是一枚邮票大小的硅片。

5 innovative   

adj.革新的，新颖的，富有革新精神的

参考例句：

• Discover an innovative way of marketing.发现一个创新的营销方式。
• He was one of the most creative and innovative engineers of his generation.他是他那代人当中最富创造性与革新精神的工程师之一。

6 advertising   

n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的

参考例句：

• Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
• The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。

7 scotches   

n.伤口，刻痕( scotch的名词复数 )；阻止车轮滑动的木块v.阻止( scotch的第三人称单数 )；制止（车轮）转动；弄伤；镇压

参考例句：

• Top of the range Scotches attract a fanatical following among whisky buffs. 顶级苏格兰威士忌在威士忌酒酒迷中吸引了一批狂热的拥趸。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Two Scotches, please and make those doubles, will you? 请来两杯苏格兰威士忌--都要双份的，好吗？ 来自辞典例句

8 cocaine   

n.可卡因，古柯碱（用作局部麻醉剂）

参考例句：

• That young man is a cocaine addict.那个年轻人吸食可卡因成瘾。
• Don't have cocaine abusively.不可滥服古柯碱。

9 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》

10 stimulants   

n.兴奋剂( stimulant的名词复数 )；含兴奋剂的饮料；刺激物；激励物

参考例句：

• Coffee and tea are mild stimulants. 咖啡和茶是轻度兴奋剂。
• At lower concentrations they may even be stimulants of cell division. 在浓度较低时，它们甚至能促进细胞分裂。 来自辞典例句

11 constraint   

n.(on)约束，限制；限制(或约束)性的事物

参考例句：

• The boy felt constraint in her presence.那男孩在她面前感到局促不安。
• The lack of capital is major constraint on activities in the informal sector.资本短缺也是影响非正规部门生产经营的一个重要制约因素。

12 inefficient   

adj.效率低的，无效的

参考例句：

• The inefficient operation cost the firm a lot of money.低效率的运作使该公司损失了许多钱。
• Their communication systems are inefficient in the extreme.他们的通讯系统效率非常差。