美國兩學(xué)者分享2009年諾貝爾經(jīng)濟學(xué)獎

Two economists who specialise in understanding behaviour and transactions which are not covered by detailed contracts or law shared the 2009 Nobel prize for economics yesterday.

兩名經(jīng)濟學(xué)家昨日分享了2009年諾貝爾經(jīng)濟學(xué)獎，他們的研究對象是，不在詳細(xì)的合約或法律約束范圍內(nèi)的行為及交易。

Elinor Ostrom, a professor from Indiana University, was honoured for her work on the management of common resources such as fish stocks.

美國印第安納大學(xué)教授埃莉諾·奧斯特羅姆(Elinor Ostrom)因其在公共資源（如魚類資源）管理方面的研究而獲獎。

Professor Oliver Williamson of the University of California also became a Nobel laureate, sharing the SKr10m ($1.4m, €1m, £909,000) prize, for his complementary, but separate, work on co-operation and conflict within companies.

美國加利福尼亞大學(xué)教授奧利弗·威廉姆森(Oliver Williamson)也成為諾貝爾經(jīng)濟學(xué)獎得主，分享1000萬瑞典克朗（140萬美元）的獎金，他的研究對象是公司內(nèi)部的合作與沖突，這對奧斯特羅姆的研究形成補充，但自成一體。

The economics prize has been awarded every year since 1969 in memory of Alfred Nobel and is not one of the traditional five prizes. This year is the first time this “new Nobel” has been awarded to a woman.

自1969年以來，諾貝爾經(jīng)濟學(xué)獎以紀(jì)念阿爾弗雷德·諾貝爾(Alfred Nobel)的名義每年頒發(fā)，但不是五個傳統(tǒng)獎項之一。今年是首次有女性獲得這個“新諾貝爾獎”。

Professor Ostrom said her first reaction was “great surprise and appreciation”.

奧斯特羅姆教授表示，她的第一反應(yīng)是“極大的驚訝與感激”。

She added: “There are many, many people who have struggled mightily and to be chosen for this prize is a great honour and I'm still a little bit in shock.”

她補充道：“有許多、許多人付出了艱巨的努力，被選中獲得這一獎項是一種巨大的榮譽，我仍有點處于震驚之中。”

In a year when many people might think economists did not deserve recognition at all, the Nobel has gone to a branch of economics unrelated to the financial crisis and is unlikely to stir the same controversy as last year's award to Paul Krugman of Princeton University, a macroeconomist who has commented on the world economic crisis from a Keynesian perspective.

當(dāng)今，很多人可能認(rèn)為經(jīng)濟學(xué)家根本不值得表彰，在此之際，今年的諾貝爾經(jīng)濟學(xué)獎頒發(fā)給一個與金融危機無關(guān)的經(jīng)濟學(xué)分支，從而不太可能像去年那樣引發(fā)爭議。去年的諾貝爾經(jīng)濟學(xué)獎得主是美國普林斯頓大學(xué)的保羅·克魯格曼(Paul Krugman)，他是一位宏觀經(jīng)濟學(xué)家，曾用凱恩斯主義的觀點評述此次世界經(jīng)濟危機。

The two economists won their prize for the study of how to enforce rules where detailed contracts or legal frameworks do not exist. Their work has helped to foster understanding on why natural resources are not always degraded, contrary to more simple theories, and why large companies exist, but also outsource some operations.

今年上述兩位經(jīng)濟學(xué)家獲獎，是因為他們研究了這樣一個問題：在不存在詳細(xì)合約或法律框架的情況下，如何強制執(zhí)行規(guī)則？他們的研究成果有助于推動人們對一些問題的理解，比如：與更簡單的理論相反，為什么自然資源并不總是會退化？為什么大公司存在，但同時也會外包某些業(yè)務(wù)？

Prof Ostrom has challenged the conventional “tragedy of the commons” theory, arguing that societies and groups regularly devise rules and enforcement mechanisms which stop the degradation of nature. The traditional theory holds that pollution and depletion of resources would occur because individuals did not recognise their effect on others. However, she argued that people could manage resources tolerably well without rules imposed by the authorities if rules evolved over time, entitlements were clear, conflict resolution measures were available, and an individual's duty to maintain the common resource was in proportion to the benefits from exploiting it.

奧斯特羅姆教授對傳統(tǒng)的“公地悲劇”理論發(fā)起挑戰(zhàn)，她主張，社會和團體經(jīng)常制定規(guī)則和執(zhí)行機制，遏制自然界的退化。傳統(tǒng)理論認(rèn)為，之所以會出現(xiàn)污染和資源枯竭，是因為個人意識不到自己的行為對他人的影響。但她提出，只要滿足一些條件，即使沒有官方強制推行的規(guī)則，人們也能過得去地管好資源，這些條件包括：規(guī)則隨著時間的推移而演變，權(quán)利明確，存在可用的沖突解決機制，以及個人保持公共資源的職責(zé)與其開發(fā)利用資源的獲益成比例。

Active participation in setting and enforcing rules was the key feature of such success stories, she found. Prof Williamson also studied economic governance, but within companies. Since much of economic life happens within organisations, he examined how decisions were made, rather than just the decision that was taken. That helped him develop a theory of why companies exist – they can be efficient at resolving conflict, via the use of hierarchy.

她在研究中發(fā)現(xiàn)，人們積極參與制定并執(zhí)行規(guī)則，是這些成功故事的關(guān)鍵特點。威廉姆森教授也研究了經(jīng)濟治理，但范圍限于公司內(nèi)部。由于有相當(dāng)大一部分經(jīng)濟活動發(fā)生在企業(yè)內(nèi)部，他仔細(xì)研究了決定是如何做出的（而非僅僅是所作出的決定本身）。這幫助他開發(fā)出一套理論，解釋公司為什么會存在。按照他的理論，憑借等級制度，公司能夠有效地解決沖突。

He also found that where transactions were complex, companies were more efficient than individual contracts would be.

他還發(fā)現(xiàn)，在交易比較復(fù)雜的情況下，公司也比私人合同更有效率。

The theory helps to explain the shifting boundaries of companies; why they often abuse their power; and why large companies evolve in certain industries.

該理論有助于解釋公司界限的變遷；為什么它們經(jīng)常濫用權(quán)力，以及為什么某些行業(yè)容易出現(xiàn)大公司。