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第十二讲 对凯恩斯理论的不同看法 在上一讲中我们提到英国经济学家凯恩斯的经济理论曾在经济学领域掀起了一场革命。他认为经济衰退是由对商品和服务的有效需求不足而引起的,政府可以对此采取措施,影响经济的发展。二次大战后各国政府纷纷接受这一理论,承担起对经济运作的责任。 今天我们要介绍一下经济学界对凯恩斯经济理论的不同看法。 甚至在凯恩斯理论的鼎盛时期,也一直存在着对这一理论的争执。一九七六年获得诺贝尔经济学奖的美国教授弗里德曼就是持有不同看法的学者之一。 在听弗里德曼教授讲述他的观点之前,我们先来学几个他要在谈话中使用的英文词汇: 1 Keynesian orthodoxy 凯恩斯传统理论 2 monetary policy 货币政策,指一国中央银行对货币和信贷的调节管理政策。 3 easy money 低息贷款,银根松动 4 misinterpretation 曲解 5 Federal Reserve system 联邦储备系统 下面我们听一下弗里德曼教授对凯恩斯理论的不同看法: In the first place the reason Keynesian orthodoxy came into so much favour was because of a widespread misinterpretation of the Great Depression. And it was widely interpreted as showing that monetary policy couldn't work. It was interpreted that way because of course all of the central bankers kept saying that they were engaged in very easy money and that the economy was declining in spite of them, their actions, and not because of their actions. 首先,凯恩斯理论之所以这样受宠,是因为广泛流传的对大萧条的错误解释。大萧条被普遍认为表明了货币政策的无效,因为所有中央银行官员都坚持说银根已经放得很松。尽管他们采取了行动,经济仍然衰退,而衰退并不是由于他们的行动造成的。 But we found that the situation was very different. Though in our opinion the Great Depression was not a sign of the failure of monetary policy as it was so interpreted, it was not a result of a failure of the market system as was widely interpreted, it was rather a consequence of a very serious government failure, a failure in the monetary authorities to do what they'd initially been set up to do. 但是我们发现的情况却非常不同。尽管我们认为大萧条并非如同它被解释的那样是货币政策失败的标志,它也不像人们普遍认为的那样是市场机制失败的结果。确切地说它是政府严重失败的后果,是货币管理当局执行当初建立它们这些机构时所赋予它们的职责的失败。 下面我们再完整听一遍弗里德曼的这段谈话。(略) 弗里德曼教授接下来进一步谈了凯恩斯理论的影响和他自己对这一理论的不同看法。他使用了这样一些词汇: 1 the effect 作用,影响 2 intellectual community 知识界,学术界 3 cut tax 减税 4 government deficit 政府赤字 5 the House of Commons 议会下院 弗里德曼教授说: The effect was primarily, I would say, after World War Two. The effect was to encourage politicians to do what politicians love to do - spend money and not raise taxes. 我觉得(凯恩斯理论)在二次世界大战以后产生了根本性的影响。这种影响鼓励政治家们去做他们喜爱做的事:花钱但不增加税收。 The Keynesian theory, not as Keynes himself necessarily presented it, but as it was interpreted both in the intellectual community and in the media and the press, said that if you have high unemployment, the way to solve that is to cut taxes and increase government spending - at least create a government deficit. 我们所说的凯恩斯理论,不一定是凯恩斯自己原来提出的那套理论,而是经过学术界和新闻媒体做了解释的理论。这种理论认为对付高失业问题的办法是削减税收和增加政府开支,至少要在政府预算中造成赤字。 Now the government could have created the deficit entirely by cutting taxes and not increasing spending, but if you're sitting in the House of Commons in London or in Australia, or in the United States, obviously the thing you'd like to do is to increase spending. 现在政府完全可以通过减税而不增加开支来造成赤字。但如果你身居伦敦的英国议会下院,或是澳大利亚或美国的议会,很明显你愿意做的是增加开支。 And so the major effect of the Keynesian orthodoxy in the post-war period was to encourage an expansion in government spending as a fraction of income, and to contribute to the inflation of the 1970s. 因此凯恩斯传统理论在战后时期的主要影响在于鼓励政府增加开支作为人们收入的部分来源,也就促成了一九七十年代的通货膨胀。 下面我们再完整听一遍弗里德曼教授的这段谈话。(略) 在这一讲和上一讲中,我们为您简单介绍了经济学中曾红极一时的凯恩斯理论和对这一理论的不同看法。 在结束这一讲之前,我们再复习一下今天涉及的一些英文词汇: 1 Keynesian orthodoxy 凯恩斯传统理论 2 monetary policy 货币政策,指一国中央银行对货币和信贷的调节管理政策 3 easy money 低息贷款,银根松动 4 misinterpretation 曲解 5 Federal Reserve system 联邦储备系统 6 the effect 作用,影响 7 intellectual community 知识界,学术界 8 cut tax 减税 9 government deficit 政府赤字 10 the House of Commons 议会下院
第十三讲 货币的价格 澳大利亚与其他许多国家一样实行货币浮动汇率制,在这一讲中我们来看一看货币的价格也就是汇率是由什么来决定的。 自从二十世纪八十年代初开始,澳大利亚与其他许多国家一样实行了货币浮动汇率制,英文是 floating exchange rates。也就是说,澳大利亚元的价格要随着市场的变化而不断变动。 在这一讲中,我们就来看一看货币的价格也就是汇率到底是由什么来决定的。 我们知道,汇率是两种或两种以上货币之间的比价。最初,澳大利亚同世界上的许多国家一样,实行的是固定汇率制。巴里克拉克对此作了解释。他在谈话中提到这样一些词汇: 1 fixed exchange rates 固定汇率 2 Gold Standard 金本位制,以黄金为本位货币的货币制度,1819年英国首先采用,1929年后被大多数国家放弃 3 Bretton Woods system 布雷顿森林货币体系,1944年7月在美国新罕布什尔州布雷顿森林举行了联合国家货币金融会议,确定一盎司黄金等于三十五美元,其他货币与美元汇率在上下百分之一的幅度内浮动 4 crawling peg system 蠕动钉住汇率制,布雷顿森林汇率制度瓦解后的一种汇率制度,只对汇率作少量调整,避免剧烈变动 5 International Monetary Fund 国际货币基金组织 下面我们分段听一遍巴里克拉克的谈话和中文翻译: Precisely because the exchange rate is such an exceptionally important price, many find it surprising, and even alarming, that it is allowed to fluctuate from day to day, from hour to hour, and even from minute to minute, according to the vagaries of market forces. 恰恰由于货币兑换率是这样一种特别重要的价格,允许它根据市场反复无常的力量每日每时甚至每分钟都上下浮动,使很多人感到惊讶甚至担忧。 Throughout most of the 19th century, and for part of the 20th century, the world economy operated on a quite rigorous system of fixed exchange rates, known as the 'Gold Standard'. Though the Gold Standard was abandoned during the Great Depression, a modified regime of fixed exchange rates was reinstated with the reconstruction of the international financial mechanism after the Second World War. This was known as the 'Bretton Woods system', presided over by the International Monetary Fund. 在整个十九世纪和二十世纪部分时期,世界经济是基于一种严格的固定汇率制度来运作的。这种制度称为“金本位”制。尽管大萧条期间金本位制被抛弃,二次大战后重建国际金融秩序时又恢复了一种较为温和的固定汇率制,称作“布雷顿森林制”,由国际货币基金组织掌管。 Even as late as the early 1980s, though the original Bretton Woods mechanism had by then essentially collapsed internationally, the Australian authorities were still attempting to manage the exchange rate under a so-called 'crawling peg' system, with the object of stabilizing the price of the dollar. 甚至到了一九八十年代初,尽管那时原来的布雷顿森林制在国际上已经基本垮台,澳大利亚政府仍试图根据所谓的“蠕动钉住”制来管理货币的兑换率,以稳定澳元的价格。 But in December 1983, the then Federal Treasurer, Paul Keating announced the floating of the dollar. 但是在1983年的12月,当时的国库部长基廷宣布澳元自由浮动。 现在我们再完整听一遍巴里克拉克的谈话。(略) 那么,货币的价格不再由政府的中央银行决定之后,是由什么来确定呢?是由坐在交易所里面的货币经纪人来决定吗?美国斯坦福大学经济系教授安妮克鲁格说: The major part of the story has to do with the market determining the exchange rate, but the market in itself is reacting to a number of underlying factors and those include how much is exported, how much is imported, what relative interest rates are, how much demand and supply, if you like, there is for the Australian or the US dollar relative to other currencies. So it's a market determined rate and in that sense, what's happening in the trading rooms is that the traders are trying to figure out where the market is going. And for most purposes I think the evidence is that they do not have a great deal of influence in anything other than a little bit on the day to day side. 安妮克鲁格教授在讲话中提到这样一些词汇: 1 determine 决定 2 underlying 基本的,潜在的 3 export 出口 4 import 进口 5 demand 需求 6 supply 供应 下面我们分段听一遍安妮克鲁格教授的谈话和中文翻译:(英文略) 决定货币价格的主要因素是市场,而市场本身又是对一些基本因素作出反映,包括出口有多少,进口有多少,相关的利率是多少,相对其他货币来说对澳元或美元的需求和供应有多少等等。 因此汇率是由市场来决定。货币经纪人在交易所里所作的只是要试图确定市场的走向。在很大程度上,我认为事实证明他们除了对每日的交易稍许有些影响之外,对汇率并没有太大的影响力。 接下来我们再听一遍安妮克鲁格教授谈话的原文。(略) 刚才美国斯坦福大学经济系教授安妮克鲁格说,汇率是由市场来决定,而市场本身只是对一系列基本因素如进出口数额等等的反映。有不少的人认为国际货币市场上的投机商能够决定或动摇某种货币的兑换率。关于这一点,曾获诺贝尔经济学奖的美国教授弗里德曼持有不同看法: Well in a day to day term, the speculators can have some influence. But in floating exchange rate markets, speculators can only make money if they help to stabilize the market, not if they make it more unstable. And so, the exchange rate and the flexible exchange rate system are determined by two fundamental forces. One is trade, and second, by capital movements. If a country is an attractive place for foreigners to invest their funds, then that country will have a relatively high exchange rate. If it's an unattractive place it will be a relatively low exchange rate. But those are the fundamentals that really determine the exchange rate in a floating exchange rate system. 弗里德曼教授说,就每天的交易来说,投机商可能会有些影响。但是在浮动汇率市场上,投机商若要赚钱,只有帮助稳定市场而不是使市场更加动荡。因此汇率以及可变汇率制是由两大根本因素来决定,一是贸易,二是资本流动。如果一个国家能够吸引外国人去投资,那个国家就会有相对较高的货币汇率。如果它不能吸引投资,它的汇率就较低。 这是浮动汇率制度下真正决定汇率变化的根本因素。 现在我们再听一遍弗里德曼教授的这段谈话原文。(略) 在结束这一讲之前,我们把今天遇到的一些英文词汇复习一遍: 1 fixed exchange rates 固定汇率 2 Gold Standard 金本位制 3 Bretton Woods system 布雷顿森林货币体系 4 crawling peg system 蠕动钉住汇率制 5 International Monetary Fund 国际货币基金组织 6 flexible exchange rate 可变汇率制
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第十四讲 浮动汇率与固定汇率 在这一讲中我们要继续跟您谈谈 floating exchange rates 浮动汇率和 fixed exchange rates 固定汇率问题。 在上一讲中,我们为您介绍了澳大利亚从一九八三年开始实行澳元的浮动汇率制。在此之前,澳大利亚同世界上大多数国家一样,曾实行过各种不同的固定汇率制,包括: 1 Gold Standard 金本位制 2 Bretton Woods system 布雷顿森林货币体系 3 crawling peg system 蠕动钉住汇率制 那么,实行浮动汇率制有什么好处呢?巴里克拉克说: One of the most important benefits of floating exchange rates is that they help to insulate the domestic economy against shocks. For example under fixed exchange rates, if an export market collapses, the adverse impact is transmitted fully to the domestic economy. It may be said that we achieve stability of the exchange rate at the cost of domestic instability. However, if a similar thing happens under floating exchange rates, the automatic depreciation of the dollar helps to offset the negative domestic effects. In other words, we get relative domestic stability at the cost of exchange rate instability. Furthermore, our domestic economic policy options are themselves significantly affected by whether exchange rates are fixed or floating. 巴里克拉克在谈话中使用了这样几个词汇: 1 insulate 隔绝 2 adverse impact 不利影响 3 transmit 传导 4 depreciation 贬值 5 offset 抵销,补偿 下面我们分段听一遍巴里克拉克的这段讲话及中文翻译:(英文略) 浮动汇率最大的好处是它有助于国内经济免受(国际金融市场动荡的)打击。举例来说,在固定汇率制度下,如果一个出口市场崩溃,国内经济就会经受全部的打击。这也许可以说是以国内经济动荡为代价来换取汇率的稳定。 但是如果在浮动汇率制下发生同样的情况,货币的自动贬值会抵销对国内经济的消极影响。换句话说,我们以汇率不稳的代价换取了国内经济的相对稳定。 而且汇率是固定的还是浮动的,对我们选择国内经济政策也有很大影响。 现在我们再把巴里克拉克的这段谈话完整听一遍。(略) 为什么巴里克拉克说选择固定汇率制还是浮动汇率制对一个国家的经济政策的选择也有很大影响呢?美国斯坦福大学经济学教授安妮克鲁格作了解释。她在讲话中使用了这样一些词汇: 1 monetary policy 货币政策 2 fiscal policy 财政政策 3 trade balance 贸易收支 4 deficit (预算)赤字 现在请您听一遍安妮克鲁格教授的谈话。 When you have a fixed exchange rate, then monetary policy does not have a great deal of influence on domestic economic activity. Under a floating rate, a change in the interest rate has quite a powerful effect on the exchange rate and, through the trade balance, has a much bigger effect on the level of economic activity. So floating rates do make monetary policy more potent than a fixed rate system. The opposite is true for fiscal policy, because if the government decides it wants to run a bigger deficit because it thinks that would expand the economy, what will happen, of course, is that the domestic interest rate will go up, that will lead to the opposite change in the trade balance, and that will offset some of the fiscal expansion. So the relative efficacy of fiscal and monetary policy and how you need to use those tools does change depending on what system you're under. 下面我们分段听一遍安妮克鲁格教授的谈话和中文翻译:(英文略) 安妮克鲁克说,实行固定汇率制时,货币政策对国内经济活动不会有很大的影响。但在浮动汇率制下,利率的变化对汇率有着强有力的影响,并通过贸易收支对经济活动的水平有还要大得多的影响。因此与固定汇率相比,浮动汇率制使货币政策有更大威力。 对财政收支政策来说恰好相反。如果政府决定扩大预算赤字以扩展经济,国内的利率自然就会上升,这会导致贸易收支向相反方向变化,从而抵销一部分财政的膨胀。因此财政收支政策和货币政策的相对效应以及需要如何利用它们会依据实行的是哪一种汇率制度而变化。 现在我们再听一遍美国斯坦福大学经济学教授安妮克鲁格这段话的全文。(略) 我们今天为您介绍的是固定汇率和浮动汇率问题。那么到底是哪一种汇率对经济的发展更有益处呢?巴里克拉克谈了他的看法: In general, the record of fixed exchange rate regimes, at least in this century, has not been wholly impressive. Not only did they fail to maintain exchange rate stability, but they gave speculators virtually underwritten opportunities for destabilizing profit-making that simply do not exist in a floating rate system. 巴里克拉克说,总的来说,至少从二十世纪来看,固定汇率制的记录并不很光彩。它们不仅未能保持汇率的稳定,而且实际上为投机者提供了为牟利而破坏稳定的潜在机会。这种机会在浮动利率制中并不存在。 下面我们再听一遍巴里克拉克的这段谈话。(略) 在结束这一讲之前,我们再听一遍这一讲中遇到的一些英文词汇: 1 insulate 隔绝 2 adverse impact 不利影响 3 transmit 传导 4 depreciation 贬值 5 offset 抵销,补偿 6 monetary policy 货币政策 7 fiscal policy 财政政策 8 trade balance 贸易收支 9 deficit (预算)赤字
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第十五讲 央行干预市场的利与弊 上一讲为您介绍了浮动汇率与固定汇率。巴里克拉克介绍说,二十世纪的固定汇率制不仅未能保持汇率的稳定,而且还为投机者提供了机会。实行浮动汇率制也同样有它的不利之处。这一讲为您介绍央行干预市场的利与弊。 但是实行浮动汇率制也同样有它的不利之处。不断变化的汇率为工商业的运作带来许多不确定因素。 不过,巴里克拉克继续介绍说,各国的中央银行或储备银行大都会在关键时刻对市场进行干预,以减缓货币汇率的剧烈动荡。 巴里克拉克在他的讲话中提到了这样一些词汇: 1 Reserve Bank 储备银行 2 cushion 缓冲垫,减震器 3 intervene 干预 4 contention 辩论 5 on balance 总的来说 6 overshooting 过火,过激 下面我们听一遍巴里克拉克的谈话及中文翻译: The Reserve Bank tries to play a role in providing a comfort cushion by intervening from time to time in the foreign exchange market with a view to limiting its more extreme fluctuations. Whether the central bank should be doing this, and whether it actually can influence exchange rates in the face of market forces, are matters of some contention. From its own analysis, the Reserve Bank is persuaded that, on balance, it plays a useful role in limiting overshooting in the market. 巴里克拉克说,储备银行试图在减缓市场冲击力方面发挥作用,对外汇市场不时进行干预,目的是要限制它更剧烈的动荡。 中央银行是否应当采取这样的行动,以及它在面对市场力量时是否真能对汇率发挥影响,是需要继续讨论的问题。 储备银行通过它自己的分析,确信它总的来说在限制市场的过激行为方面能够发挥有益的作用。 下面我们再听一遍巴里克拉克的这段谈话。(略) 刚才我们谈到了中央银行对外汇兑换市场的干预。许多经济学家对中央银行进行干预的效果持怀疑态度。美国斯坦福大学经济学教授安妮克鲁格就是其中之一。她说: The first question is: can a central bank out-guess the market in terms of where the underlying market forces are taking the exchange rate? More interventiongs than not, I think, historically, have been when the central bank has been betting against the market. You may recall in 1992 when you had the upheavals in the European currencies, where there were a lot of bets against the markets and a lot of money was lost on the part of a lot of countries, including the Bank of England. So that basically, there's a real risk in central bank intervention. 安妮克鲁格教授说,首先的问题是,中央银行是否能够猜中潜在的市场势力会把市场汇率带向何处。我认为从历史上来看,多数市场的干预都是中央银行逆市场走向下的赌注。可以回想一下1992年欧洲货币的那场大动荡。当时许多人都逆市场而动,投下大批赌注,很多国家都损失了大笔的资金,包括英格兰银行在内。因此基本上来说,中央银行的干预确实存在着危险。 I think central bank intervention is dangerous. They're betting on one side of the market and then that gives speculators a one-sided bet, because they know that they can't really lose by going on the other side. 我认为中央银行的干预是危险的。它们就市场的一方打赌,这就给了投机者向另一方下赌注的机会。因为投机者知道投向另一方就肯定不会输。 下面我们再听一遍安妮克鲁格教授的这段谈话。(略) 在前两讲中我们介绍了澳大利亚同世界上许多国家一样早已放弃了固定汇率制。但是发生在二十世纪九十年代末的亚洲金融危机又引发了对固定汇率制的讨论。诺贝尔经济学奖获得者、美国经济学教授弗里德曼认为,恢复固定汇率制并不是明智之举。他说: Whenever you have a pegged exchange or a system like that, it has the tendency to let small problems accumulate into big ones and then to create a crisis. And that is true, I may say, not only among small countries like Thailand or Korea. Great Britain in the 1950s and 60s several times had similar exchange crises arising from exactly the same thing, that it was trying to peg its currency, at that time under Bretton Woods, to the US dollar. And its central bank was behaving in a way that was not consistent with that, and so, lo and behold, you had an exchange crisis and a devaluation. 弗里德曼在谈话中用了这样一些词汇和短语: 1 peg 固定,钉住 2 pegged exchange rate 固定汇率 3 tendency 趋势 4 accumulate 积累 5 lo and behold 看哪!瞧! 我们现在听一遍弗里德曼教授的这段谈话和中文翻译:(英文略) 每当实行一种固定汇率或类似的制度时,它都会有把小问题积累成大问题、然后造成危机的趋势。 不仅仅在泰国或韩国这样的小国家是如此,英国在一九五十年代和一九六十年代也由于完全同样的原因发生了几次类似的汇率危机。也就是说它试图在当时的布雷顿森林货币体系之下把英国货币与美元的汇率固定下来。 而英国中央银行的行动却与此不相一致,因此你瞧,发生了汇率危机和贬值。 最后我们再听一遍弗里德曼教授的谈话。(略) 在结束今天节目之前,我们复习一下今天遇到的一些英文词汇: 1 Reserve Bank 储备银行 2 cushion 缓冲垫,减震器 3 intervene 干预 4 contention 辩论 5 on balance 总的来说 6 overshooting 过火,过激 7 peg 固定,钉住 8 pegged exchange rate 固定汇率 9 tendency 趋势 10 accumulate 积累 11 lo and behold 看哪!瞧!
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第十六讲 央行的功能与职责 在前几讲中我们谈到了中央银行对市场进行干预会对汇率及经济活动产生的影响。那么,什么是中央银行呢?它在一个国家的经济活动中扮演的是什么角色呢?在今天的节目中我们就要谈谈中央银行或储备银行的功能和职责。 在前几讲中我们介绍了 floating exchange rates 和 fixed exchange rates,浮动汇率与固定汇率。我们谈到了中央银行对市场进行干预会对汇率及经济活动产生的影响。 那么,什么是中央银行呢?它在一个国家的经济活动中扮演的是什么角色呢?在今天的节目中我们就要谈谈中央银行 central bank 或储备银行 reserve bank 的功能和职责。 各国中央银行在现代的经济活动中可以说扮演着举足轻重的角色。在欧洲,中央银行已经有几百年的历史。巴里克拉克介绍说: Central banks are key economic policy institutions in most modern economies. But around the world, the role and functions of central banks have been under challenge from changing fashions in monetary policy and form the deregulation and globalization of financial markets. During its brief history, Australia's Reserve Bank has been required to act as banker to government, regulator of the financial system and administrator of monetary policy. 巴里克拉克在谈话中使用了这样一些词汇: 1 central bank 中央银行 2 reserve bank 储备银行 3 deregulation 解除管制 4 globalization 全球化 5 regulator 管理者,调整者 6 administrator 管理人 下面我们再听一遍巴里克拉克的谈话和中文翻译:(英文略) 在大多数现代国家的经济中,中央银行是一个重要的机构。但是世界各国中央银行的角色和功能一直受到货币政策不断演变以及金融市场取消管制和全球化的挑战。 在澳大利亚储备银行短暂的历史中,它被要求充当政府的银行、金融系统的调节人以及货币政策的管理者。 现在我们再听一遍巴里克拉克的这段谈话。(略) 澳大利亚墨尔本大学的银行史学家大卫梅里特对中央银行的职能也作了解释。他在谈话中用了这样一些词汇和短语: 1 exclusive 专门的,专有的,排他的 2 vitally important 极其重要的 3 lender of last resort 最后贷款者,为其它银行提供贷款的银行,这是中央银行的职能之一 4 commercial banks 商业银行 5 liquid assets 流动资产,指可以迅速变成现金而不会有价值损失或损失较小的资产 6 bail out 帮助...摆脱困境 现在我们听一遍大卫梅里特的谈话: The central banks usually began their existence as a banker that dealt exclusively with the national government, that really provides credit to the government of the country and in return for so doing, gets particular privileges which quite often is a monopoly on the issue of paper money. 中央银行在问世之初通常都是只单独与各自政府打交道的银行,为政府提供信贷。作为交换,中央银行获得某些特权,通常是垄断货币的发行。 From that strength, as these banks become large and important they acquire, almost by natural process, a third and vitally important function and that is what we've called a lender of last resort. 借助这一实力地位,随着中央银行越来越庞大和重要,它们几乎是自然而然地获得了第三种功能,也就是我们所说的“最后贷款者”。 They become the banker for commercial banks. They're seen to be safe, other banks will put money on deposit with them. They become a leader of the banking community and in times of crisis it's this central bank that can assist banks who get into trouble. 它们成为商业银行的银行。它们被认为是安全的。其它银行会把钱放在中央银行作为存款。中央银行成为银行界的领袖。在遭遇危机的时候,正是中央银行能够为陷入困境的银行提供帮助。 Now, there's a price to pay to be in the club, to have a central banker, and that is usually there is a set of sort of informal rules grow up about the behavior of the other banks. They will hold a certain amount of capital, they'll hold some of their liquid assets on deposit with the central bank. If you're going to be bailed out you have to abide by convention. 现在,要为参加这个俱乐部和拥有一个中央银行而出代价了。通常会产生一系列关于其它银行运作的非正式规则。它们需要保持一定数量的资本,需要在中央银行里存储一定的流动资产。若想得到中央银行的救助,就必需遵守规则。 现在让我们完整听一遍澳大利亚墨尔本大学银行史学家大卫梅里特的这段谈话。(略) 接下来我们把这一讲中遇到的一些英文词汇复习一遍: 1 central bank 中央银行 2 reserve bank 储备银行 3 deregulation 解除管制 4 globalization 全球化 5 regulator 管理者,调整者 6 administrator 管理人 7 exclusive 专门的,专有的,排他的 8 vitally important 极其重要的 9 lender of last resort 最后贷款者,为其它银行提供贷款的银行,这是中央银行的职能之一 10 commercial banks 商业银行 11 liquid assets 流动资产,指可以迅速变成现金而不会有价值损失或损失较小的资产 12 bail out 帮助摆脱困境
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第十七讲 中央银行角色的变化 上次介绍了各国中央银行或储备银行的职能。这次节目为您介绍央行职能的变化。 在上次节目中,我们介绍了各国中央银行或储备银行的职能。它的一个主要功能是: lender of last resort - 最后贷款人。 最后贷款人这一职能意味着中央银行在其它商业银行遇到危机时要伸出救援之手。但是中央银行是否有能力成为各商业银行危难中坚强的后盾呢?澳洲广播电台金融节目主持人巴里克拉克对此谈了他的看法: Support for the safety of the banking system via a lender of last resort mechanism became the most important function of central banks in the early twentieth century. However, the capacity of central banks to support commercial banks in trouble and to prevent a loss of confidence in all deposit taking institutions should not be overestimated. 巴里克拉克说,通过最后贷款人机制来维护银行系统的安全已在二十世纪初成为中央银行最重要的功能。但是,不应该过高估计中央银行救援陷于困境的商业银行的能力以及防止人们丧失对所有受理存款机构的信心的能力。 现在我们再听一遍巴里克拉克的这段谈话。(略) 为什么巴里克拉克说不能过高估计各国中央银行对陷于危难中的商业银行进行救援的能力呢?伦敦经济学院的查尔斯古德哈特教授对此作了进一步的解释。他在谈话中使用了这样一些词汇: 1 capital 资本 2 information gatherer 信息收集人 3 co-coordinator 协调人 4 corral 把...集合在一起 5 rescue 救援 古德哈特教授说: Central banks have never actually had that much capital of their own, and they've never been able to finance any large scale rescue entirely on their own. Instead they act as information gatherers and co-ordinators of the banking system and they encourage and corral the banks as a group to provide support and assistance to the bank in difficulty. And that has actually been the case more or less throughout ... and the Bank of England has acted as the co-coordinator and the central operator of a rescue system, rather than doing it all by itself. More recently, the willingness of the banks to get together to bail out and support their colleagues has actually been diminishing with the more competitive system we now have. And effectively now the fund to bail out or to provide any large scale support system for the banks has to come from the taxpayer. 下面我们分段听一遍古德哈特教授的谈话和中文翻译:(英文略) 中央银行自己实际上从来没有那么多的资金,也从来没有能力完全独立地资助任何大规模的救援行动。相反,它们是银行系统的信息收集者和协调人,鼓励并召集各个银行成为一个团体,为陷于困境的银行提供支持和援助。 实际上几乎一直都大致是这种情况。英格兰银行就一直扮演着一个救援体系中的协调和中央运作的角色,而不是单独靠自己进行救援。 近来,各银行联合起来援助和支持同伴的愿望实际上已经降低,因为我们现在有了竞争更激烈的体制。事实上,现在为银行提供的救援或大规模支持系统所需的资金只能来自纳税人。 现在我们再听一遍古德哈特教授这段谈话的全文。(略) 二十世纪三十年代的大萧条使各国中央银行承担起新的责任。巴里克拉克对此作了介绍: The global depression of the 1930s and the demands for economic controls during the second world war thrust new responsibilities upon central banks. New economic ideas, principally those of the English economist John Maynard Keynes, legitimated a more interventionist set of government policies to direct the economy in pursuit of full employment and price stability. 巴里克拉克的谈话中出现了这样一些英文词汇: 1 global depression 全球经济萧条 2 legitimate 使...合法化 3 interventionist 干涉主义者,干涉主义的 4 full employment 充分就业,全面就业 5 price stability 价格稳定 巴里克拉克说,一九三十年代的大萧条以及第二次世界大战期间对经济进行控制的需要使中央银行背负上新的责任。新的经济观念,主要是英国经济学家凯恩斯的观点,使政府采行了一套更倾向于涉主义的政策来指导经济,以追求全面就业和价格稳定。 下面我们再听一遍巴里克拉克的这段谈话。(略) 由于各国政府在二十世纪三十年代的大萧条之后采行新的对经济进行干预的政策,各国中央银行因此有了新的职责。墨尔本大学银行史学家大卫梅里特解释说: The central bank was an institution that was already in existence, that now could act as agent for the government, combined with what we call fiscal policy, in bringing about full employment, price stability and so on. This became really their dominant or prime function from the end of the Second World War probably up until the 1970s. It's really the exercise of monetary policy which becomes the overriding objective. The older ones of lender of last resort, managing the note issue, being banker to government, really slide back into the background. 大卫梅里特说,中央银行是一个已经存在的机构,现在它可以作为政府的代理,与我们所说的财政政策相配合,以实现全面就业和价格稳定等等。从第二次世界大战结束后可能一直到一九七十年代末期,这一直是中央银行最重要的职能。实际上执行货币政策已成为压倒一切的目标。原来的“最后贷款人”、管理货币发行和充当政府银行等功能已经退居其次。 现在我们再听一遍大卫梅里特的这段谈话。(略) 在这里我们要补充的是,到了二十世纪八十年代中期,各国中央银行的角色再次发生了变化,压低通货膨胀率取代了全面就业,成为货币政策压倒一切的目标。 接下来我们复习一遍这一讲中遇到的一些英文词汇: 1 capital 资本 2 information gatherer 信息收集人 3 co-coordinator 协调人 4 corral 把...集合在一起 5 rescue 救援 6 global depression 全球经济萧条 7 legitimate 使...合法化 8 interventionist 干涉主义者,干涉主义的 9 full employment 充分就业,全面就业 10 price stability 价格稳定
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第十八讲 经济全球化(一) 经济学家们对经济全球化有什么看法?全球化的进程是由什么力量推动的?它对各国经济的发展有什么积极和消极的影响呢?这些就是我们要在这一讲和下一讲中探讨的问题。 在这一讲中我们要谈的话题是:Globalisation-全球化问题。 世界经济的全球化进程可以说每天都在悄悄地展开,使各国和各地区的经济越来越密切地结合在一起。那么,经济学家们对经济全球化有什么看法?全球化的进程是由什么力量推动的?它对各国经济的发展有什么积极和消极的影响呢? 在这一讲和下一讲中我们就要对这些问题作一些初步的探讨。 首先我们来听一段巴里克拉克关于全球化问题的谈话: Few days go by without a mention of globalization in the media. Whilst we are all aware that globalization is affecting our lives, our attitudes to it differ widely. For some, globalization is the way to a better future, offering gains through specialization according to comparative advantage and an opportunity for developing countries to raise their living standards. On the other hand, critics hold globalization responsible for a variety of social problems: for high unemployment in the industrialized world, for pressure on wage levels and for the present instability in financial markets. 巴里克拉克在谈话中提到这样一个词组: comparative advantage 相对优势 - 这是英国古典经济学家大卫李嘉图提出的国际分工原则中的一个概念,即各国出口生产成本比其它国家低的产品,因为他们在这些产品上拥有相对优势。 巴里克拉克还使用了这样一些词汇: 1 living standard 生活水平 2 social problems 社会问题 3 instability 不稳定,动荡 下面我们分段听一遍巴里克拉克的这段谈话和中文翻译:(英文略) 新闻媒介几乎每天都会提到“全球化”。尽管我们都意识到全球化影响了我们的生活,但我们对全球化的看法却相去甚远。 有些人认为,全球化是通向更加美好未来的途径,通过“相对优势”论达成的专业化生产使各国获利,同时也为发展中国家提供了提高生活水平的机会。 另一方面,持批评看法的人认为全球化造成了一系列的社会问题,如工业化各国的高失业率、工资水平受到的压力以及目前金融市场的不稳定等等。 下面我们再完整听一遍巴里克拉克的这段谈话。(略) 那么到底是什么因素推动了全球化进程的快速发展呢?澳大利亚墨尔本莫纳什大学市场学系主任菲茨罗伊教授认为,通讯和交通费用的降低是主要的因素: In 1945, if you had wanted to fly from Melbourne to London it would have cost you something like two years average industrial wages. If you want to do that in the late 1990s, it will cost you about three weeks average industrial wage. So there's been an enormous decline in transport cost. What that means is that it maybe cheaper to produce a good in, let's say, the United Kingdom and ship it to Australia, rather than to produce it in Australia. So it changes the fundamental economics of the industry. Another development that facilitates globalization is the rise of communications. Historically again, distance has been a major impediment to the co-ordination and management of organizations. With the tremendous developments in both computing and communications, cost has really declined substantially. Again, quoting some data, in 1930 a phone call from New York to London cost something of the order of $300, today it costs something like a dollar. 菲茨罗伊教授在谈话中提到这样一些词汇: 1 average industrial wages 平均行业工资 2 decline 下降,衰落 3 facilitate 推进,促进 4 impediment 妨碍,障碍 5 substantial 实质性的,重要的 下面我们分段听一遍菲茨罗伊教授的这段谈话和中文翻译:(英文略) 在1945年,如果你想从墨尔本飞到伦敦,飞机票的价钱大约等于两年的平均行业工资。但是到了一九九十年代末期,同样的机票只相当于三个星期的平均行业工资。因此交通运输费用已大大降低。 这意味着也许在英国生产某种产品再把它运送到澳大利亚比在澳大利亚生产还要便宜。所以它改变了工业经济学的基本原理。 促进全球化进程的另一原因是通讯的发展。再从历史上来看,距离一直是组织机构进行协调管理的一个主要障碍。随着计算机和通讯系统的巨大发展,通讯的费用也大幅度降低。我们再看看一些数据,1930年从纽约打电话到伦敦通常要花费大约三百美元,而现在大约只需要一块钱。 现在我们再完整听一遍澳大利亚墨尔本莫纳什大学菲茨罗伊教授的谈话。(略) 我们把这一讲中遇到的一些英文词汇再听一遍: 1 comparative advantage 相对优势 2 living standard 生活水平 3 social problems 社会问题 4 instability 不稳定,动荡 5 average industrial wages 平均行业工资 6 decline 下降,衰落 7 facilitate 推进,促进 8 impediment 妨碍,障碍 9 substantial 实质性的,重要的 第十九讲 经济全球化(二) 在上一讲中我们谈的话题是:globalisation-经济的全球化。 澳大利亚墨尔本莫纳什大学的市场学系主任菲茨罗伊教授介绍说,通讯和交通运输费用的降低是促进经济全球化进程的两个因素。 接下来菲茨罗伊教授介绍说,生产规模的扩大和顾客品味趋于一致也是推动经济全球化的原因。他在谈话中使用了这样一些词汇: 1 economies of scale 规模经济 2 homogeneity 同种,同一 3 cater to the need of 迎合...的需要 4 barrier 障碍 5 GATT 关税及贸易总协定 General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 的缩写 6 World Trade Organization 世界贸易组织,简称WTO 7 trade liberalization 贸易自由化 现在我们听一遍菲茨罗伊教授的这段谈话: It is true in lots of industries, large plants can make goods much cheaper than small plants. And in some industries we can see a movement towards increasing economies of scale. In other words, the minimum size of plant or the most economic size of plant is getting larger and larger. Another necessary condition for globalization is the increasing homogeneity of consumer tastes. There are an increasing number of consumers in Brazil; who have almost precisely the same set of needs and requirements as consumers in Germany. So consequently it becomes easier for a producer to try to cater to the needs of both markets, because the market differences have now really diminished to a point where they virtually don't exist. Another explanation for globalization is the behavior of governments. Historically, there have been barriers to trade that have been put up by governments. Particularly since the Second World War, inter-government bodies such as the GATT and the World Trade Organization have really encouraged governments to liberalize trade, which means to remove political barriers, so that trade liberalization has been again an important necessary condition for globalization. 接下来我们分段听一遍菲茨罗伊教授的谈话和中文翻译:(英文略) 的确在很多行业中,大工厂能够以比小工厂低得多的成本生产产品。在有些行业中我们可以看到“规 模 经 济”不断增加的趋势。换句话说,就是工厂的最小规模或者说工厂的最经济的规模变得越来越大。 全球化的另一必要条件是顾客的品味日益趋于一致。在巴西有越来多的顾客,他们的需要和要求与德国顾客的几乎完全一样。这种趋势使生产者能更容易地迎合两个市场的需要,因为市场的差别现在实际上已缩小到几乎不存在的程度。 促进全球化的另一原因是政府的行为。历史上各国政府曾设置贸易障碍。但是从二次大战以来,各种政府间的组织如关税及贸易总协定和世界贸易组织实际上一直鼓励各国政府允许贸易自由化,也就是消除政治障碍。因此贸易自由化也是经济全球化的一个必要的条件。 下面我们把菲茨罗伊教授的这段谈话连起来听一遍。(略) 在上一讲和这一讲中,澳大利亚墨尔本莫纳什大学市场学系主任菲茨罗伊教授介绍说,促进经济全球化的因素有: 1 the fall in the cost of communications and transportation,通讯和交通费用的降低; 2 the increasing economies of scale,生产规模的扩大; 3 the homogeneity of consumer tastes,顾客品味的趋于一致; 4 the governments' efforts in pursuing trade liberalization,政府作出的贸易自由化努力等等。 莫纳什大学经济学副教授特雷西补充说,multinational corporations,跨国公司的发展也是经济全球化的因素之一。 First of all, by multinational enterprises I mean those firms that produce and market their products in two or more countries. Now those sort of companies dominate in the more capital intensive industries such as automobiles, consumer electronics, chemicals, pharmaceuticals and so on. I see multinationals as one of the main agents through which globalization takes place. They certainly play a major role in the movement of capital world-wide. We see that foreign direct investment has been growing roughly three times as fast as total investment. Having said that, few firms are really truly global. Most firms still remain firmly rooted in their domestic economies, although the number of those truly global firms is certainly increasing. 特雷西副教授的谈话中出现了这样一些词汇: 1 multinational enterprises 跨国公司,多国企业 2 dominate 支配,控制 3 capital intensive industries 资本密集产业 4 agent 中介,媒介 5 movement of capital 资本流动 下面我们分段听一遍特雷西副教授的谈话和中文翻译:(英文略) 跨国公司指的是在两个或两个以上国家生产和销售它们产品的公司。现在这类公司在资本密集产业中占了统治地位,如汽车、民用电子、化工和制药行业等等。 我认为跨国公司是形成全球化进程的主要中介之一。它们在资本全球流动方面扮演着重要角色。我们看到外国直接投资的增长速度大约是总投资额增长速度的三倍。 不过,尽管真正全球性公司的数目在不断增加,并没有多少公司是真正的全球性跨国公司。大多数的公司还都深深扎根于自己国家的经济中。 我们现在把特雷西副教授的这段谈话再听一遍。(略) 在结束这一讲之前我们再复习一遍遇到的一些词汇: 1 economies of scale 规模经济 2 homogeneity 同种,同一 3 cater to the need of 迎合...的需要 4 barrier 障碍 5 trade liberalization 贸易自由化 6 multinational enterprises 跨国公司,多国企业 7 dominate 支配,控制 8 capital intensive industries 资本密集产业 9 agent 中介,动力 10 movement of capital 资本流动
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第二十讲 国基组织和世贸组织(一) 在这一讲中我们要谈谈过去五十年中对稳定世界经济作出贡献的两个重要国际组织-国际货币基金组织和世界贸易组织,以及其前身关税及贸易总协定的由来和发展。 在这一讲中我们要谈谈过去五十年中对稳定世界经济作出贡献的两个重要国际组织 International Monetary Fund 国际货币基金组织和 World Trade Organization 世界贸易组织及其前身 General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade,简称 GATT,也就是关税及贸易总协定的由来和发展。 巴里克拉克首先介绍了这两个国际组织诞生的历史背景: These institutions came into existence because policy makers in the United States and the United Kingdom, the dominant players in the post-World War II planning game, wanted to avoid a repeat of the mistakes made during the inter-war years. From an economic perspective, the period between the two world wars might best be described as an era of instability and collapse. The 1930s saw a drastic contraction of world trade, lower income and high unemployment. 下面我们分段听一遍巴里克拉克的这段谈话和中文翻译:(英文略) 这些机构的成立是由于美国和英国这两个在第二次世界大战后制定计划时占支配地位国家的领导人希望避免重复在两次大战之间那段时期犯的错误。 从经济角度来看,第一次和第二次世界大战之间的那段时期可以说是动荡与崩溃的时期。在一九三十年代,世界贸易严重收缩,收入降低,失业增加。 接下来我们完整听一遍巴里克拉克的这段谈话。(略) 澳大利亚莫纳什大学的里查德斯纳普教授对当时的历史背景作了进一步的解释。他在谈话中使用了这样一些词组: 1 international monetary system 国际货币秩序 2 currency turmoil 货币动荡 3 erecting trade barriers 设立贸易壁垒 4 bilateralism 双边主义 5 preference 优先,特惠 6 contagious 可蔓延(传染)的 斯纳普教授说: There were two or three main things: one of course was the collapse of the international monetary system with countries restricting payments abroad and access to foreign currencies - and so there was a great deal of currency turmoil. And then, with the onset of recession and depression in the world, you had countries erecting trade barriers, trying in fact to export unemployment, trying to stimulate demand for their own products by keeping imports out. And this was contagious, so that in the early 1930s, you had a very, very substantial decrease in international trade and, of course, with that, an increase in inefficiency, as countries were trying to do more and more themselves. You also had a great growth in bilateralism, that instead of trading on a multilateral basis - that is trading with anyone and buying from the cheapest source - you had a whole series of trade agreements where preferences were being given to particular countries. And so you had three aspects going on really: You had first of all a currency turmoil; you had, secondly, very substantially increasing trade barriers and associated with that and with the Depression greatly decreasing trade; thirdly you had a great deal of channeling of trade with preferred countries. 下面我们分段听一遍斯纳普教授的谈话和中文翻译:(英文略) 主要有两或三个方面:其中之一当然是各国限制向海外付款和限制兑换外汇,使国际货币秩序崩溃,造成极大的货币动荡。然后随着世界经济衰退和萧条的开始,一些国家设立贸易壁垒,试图转嫁失业,并停止进口以刺激对本国产品的需求。 各国互相仿效,结果在一九三十年代初国际贸大幅度缩减,同时无效率生产增加,因为各国都尝试自己来作更多的事。 同时“双边主义”也大行其道,各国签订许多贸易协议,为某些特定国家提供贸易优惠,以此代替了在多边基础上进行的贸易,也就是同所有国家往来、购买最廉价产品的贸易。 因此一共有三个方面的因素:一是货币动荡;二是贸易壁垒大量增加,再加上大萧条,贸易大幅度缩减;第三是大量通过优惠国渠道进行贸易。 下面我们把斯纳普教授对国际货币基金组织成立时的历史背景的介绍再听一遍。(略) 一九四四年七月,美国总统罗斯福邀请四十四个国家的代表团到美国新罕布什尔州的布雷顿森林举行联合国货币及金融会议。也就是在这次会议上成立了两个新的国际组织:International Monetary Fund 国际货币基金组织和 International Bank for Reconstruction and Development 国际复兴开发银行,俗称 World Bank 世界银行。 国际货币基金组织有这样三个主要的目标: One, the restoration of a multilateral system of payments, based on world wide convertibility of currencies; two, stability of exchange rates; and three, national independence in monetary and fiscal policies. 国基组织的三个主要目标是:在全球范围货币可兑换的基础上重建多边付款秩序;稳定汇率;各国自主确定货币和财政政策。 我们再听一遍这段英文。(略) 巴里克拉克接下来谈了世界贸易组织前身“关税及贸易总协定”的诞生: At the time of Bretton Woods, the intention was to create an international trade organization paralleling the IMF. However, because currency stability and financial reconstruction were considered of greater urgency this did not eventuate. Indeed, it was not until three years later, in 1947, that the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade - better known by its acronym, the GATT - became the focus for trade negotiations. As a loose-knit organization, an agreement between contracting parties, the GATT differed organizationally from the IMF. It worked through what were termed, 'negotiating rounds' at which member countries agreed to tariff reductions. 接下来我们分段听一遍巴里克拉克的谈话和中文翻译:(英文略) 在举行布雷顿森林会议时,各国本打算建立一个与国际货币基金组织并存的国际贸易组织。但这并没有成为现实,因为稳定货币和重建金融体系被认为是当务之急。 实际上,直到三年后的一九四七年,以它的英文缩写“GATT”更为知名的“关税及贸易总协定”才成为贸易谈判的焦点。 作为一个松散的组织和一项各签约国达成的协议,它在组织结构上与国基组织不同。它是通过“谈判回合”来工作的。各成员国在谈判中就降低关税达成协议。 我们再完整听一遍巴里克拉克的这段谈话。(英文略) 在这一讲的最后,我们再复习一下出现的一些英文词汇: 1 international monetary system 国际货币秩序 2 currency turmoil 货币动荡 3 erecting trade barriers 设立贸易壁垒 4 bilateralism 双边主义 5 preference 优先,特惠 6 contagious 可蔓延(传染)的 7 loose-knit 松散的 8 convertibility of currencies 货币的可兑换性
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第二十一讲 国际货币基金组织和世界贸易组织(二) 这一讲中介绍的国际货币基金组织和世界贸易组织为稳定世界经济秩序发挥了重要的作用,但是它们却无法解决战后国际经济出现的全部问题。 这一讲中我们介绍了两个重要的国际组织:International Monetary Fund-国际货币基金组织和 World Trade Organization-世界贸易组织。 这两个在二次大战期间和之后相继成立的国际组织为稳定世界经济秩序发挥了重要的作用。但是巴里克拉克说,战后的国际经济也有它的黑暗面: While the IMF and the GATT, created during and after World war II, were part of the explanation for trade expansion and income growth in the 1950s, 60s and 70s, there was a darker side to the post-war international economy. Problems began to develop with the international financial system, caused, in large part, by the failure of countries experiencing fundamental balance of payments problems to devalue or revalue their currencies. Also, the US dollars which had been in scarce supply in the 1940s became all too available in the 1960s, to the point at which the world was 'awash with dollars'. The dollar's value vis a vis other currencies was now being challenged. It was essentially this challenge to the core currency which led to the breakdown of the Bretton Woods fixed exchange rate system in the period 1971 to 1973. 巴里克拉克在谈话中用了这样几个词: 1 devalue 贬值 2 revalue 调整币值 3 vis-a-vis 相比 4 awash with dollars 美元泛滥 下面我们分段听一遍他的这段谈话和中文翻译:(英文略) 尽管在二次大战期间和之后成立的国际货币基金组织及关贸总协定是二十世纪五十、六十及七十年代贸易扩展和收入增加的原因之一,战后的国际经济也有它更黑暗的一面。 国际金融系统开始出现问题,大部分是由于那些国际收支平衡出现重大问题的国家没能将其货币贬值或或对币值作重新调整。 另外,在四十年代供不应求的美元到了六十年代就变得供过于求,甚至到了美元在整个世界泛滥的地步。美元与其它货币的比值现在受到了挑战。 正是这种对核心货币的挑战导致了布雷顿森林固定汇率制在1971到1973年的垮台。 现在我们再听一遍巴里克拉克的这段谈话原文。(略) 澳大利亚昆士兰大学经济系教授托尼梅金接下来谈了国际货币基金组织功能上的变化: The IMF basically had to reinvent itself with the breakdown of the Bretton Woods, for which it was established. In the 1970s and 80s it was seeking out a new rationale for its existence and , more recently, it's taken on a role more akin to the traditional role that it had, and that is to arrange funds for countries experiencing difficulties with the balance of payments and exchange rate. 梅金教授说,随着使它诞生的布雷顿森林货币体制的崩溃,国际货币基金组织必需重新确立自己的地位。在一九七十和八十年代,它不断为自己的存在寻求新的依据。近些年它又扮演起更象它传统上曾扮演过的角色,也就是为在国际收支平衡和兑换率方面遇到困难的国家提供资金。 But the nature of its activities now has changed quite significantly from what it used to be. It used to be the case that the IMF had to arrange funds to economies that could not sustain exchange rates at the given fixed levels, now its role is to provide funds to countries that have experienced currency crises, and economies experiencing liquidity problems. 但是国际货币基金组织工作的性质与过去相比却有了巨大的变化。过去它需要为那些无法把货币比率维持在商定的固定水平的国家筹措资金。现在它需要为遭受货币危机或流动资产问题困扰的国家提供资金。 It plays the part of a fire rescue team, if you like. There's been a firestorm in the financial markets of an economy and the IMF is akin to the fire brigade, they're coming along and they diagnose the situation and apply remedies. 可以说国际货币基金组织扮演的是消防队的角色。某个国家的金融市场发生“火灾”,国基组织就如同消防队到现场对火情作出判断并加以抢救。 梅金教授在谈话中使用了这样几个英语词汇: 1 reinvent 彻底改造,重新确立 2 rationale 合理性,依据 3 akin 类似的 4 liquidity 流动资产,清偿债务能力 接下来我们再把澳大利亚昆士兰大学梅金教授的这段谈话连起来听一遍。(略) 尽管国际货币基金组织不断遇到金融危机的国家伸出援手,在帮助这些国家渡过难关方面发挥积极的作用。但它采取的方式也受到一些经济学家的批评。美国密执安大学的克雷宁教授对国基组织在一九九十年代的亚洲金融危机中采取的行动就提出了看法。他说: IMF advice has been all too uniform across countries. In other words, countries vary a great deal. Some of them really should have a Keynesian expansionary type policy, rather than concretionary type policy, while the IMF always places the same kind of requirements on all countries. By the way, I get the feeling that this is changing, in othe | |