共享經濟的好處 The benefits of sharing

In some countries, Millennials almost take the “sharing economy” for granted.

在一些國家中，“千禧一代”幾乎認爲“共享經濟”是一種理所當然的存在。

It’s easy to pull up an app, push a few buttons, and have a taxi at your doorstep within minutes, or press a few laptop keys and find the best couch to crash on for a few days. It’s easy on the wallet and takes little time.

打開一個應用，點擊幾下按鈕，幾分鐘後就會有一輛出租車停在家門口，一切就是這麼簡單。再或者，敲幾下鍵盤，就可以找到一個最棒的沙發，舒舒服服地躺上幾天。而且，付款簡單，超級省時。

However, this new economic model could serve to benefit more than the average smartphone-wielding consumer. A paper released earlier this year by New York University found that those with the most to gain are the low-income participants in this new economy.

除了普通的智能手機消費者，這種新興經濟模式同樣可以給其他人羣帶來好處。紐約大學在今年早些時候發佈了一篇論文，該論文通過研究發現，在這種新興經濟模式下，受益最大的是低收入羣體。

“We highlight this finding because it speaks to what may eventually be the true promise of the sharing economy as a force that democratizes access to a higher standard of living,” the researchers wrote in the paper, which analyzed data from a car rental app.

“我們強調這一研究結果，是因爲它能證實分享經濟最終能給我們的生活帶來什麼好處，這種經濟模式作爲一種手段，使普通大衆也可以享受到較高的生活水平。”研究者通過分析一個汽車租賃軟件的數據，在論文中寫道。

Two big names come to mind when thinking of the sharing economy: ridesharing company Uber and lodging rental company Airbnb. The latter allows people to rent out their homes as an alternative to hotels and motels. Renting out items is a way in which those with lower income can benefit from the sharing economy.

一提起分享經濟，兩大品牌的名字便會在人們腦海中浮現：拼車公司Uber以及租房公司Airbnb。後者讓人們把自己家裏的房間出租出去，作爲替代酒店和汽車旅館的一種選擇。那些低收入者能夠從分享經濟中獲利的方式就是出租物品。

“Lower-income consumers also stand to gain the most from renting out their goods on these platforms,” Emily Badger wrote in The Washington Post. “The ability to make extra income off expensive items makes those items less expensive.”

“低收入者也是通過在這些平臺上出租物品而獲利最多的人，”，艾米麗拜哲在《華盛頓郵報》上寫道。“在共享經濟的平臺上，能夠利用貴重的物品賺取額外收入，而這一過程正好又降低了這些物品的價格。”

For example, Badger notes, an extra $20 (about 124 yuan) here or there for a waitress renting out her car could serve to really boost a waitress’ income more than a lawyer’s.

拜哲指出，比如，與律師相比，一位服務員通過出租車輛賺取的20美元（約合124元人民幣），可以大大提升她的收入。

That said, in the real world, there’s yet to be strong evidence that large numbers of lower-income consumers are actually taking advantage of such services.

話雖如此，在現實生活中，還沒有有力的證據能夠證明，大量的低收入者確實可以利用這些服務獲利。

“Part of the barrier is logistical; you have to have a credit card and a smartphone to access many of these platforms today,” Badger writes. “But another piece may be cultural.”

“部分障礙源於基本的服務保障；你必須有張信用卡和一個可以登錄現今這些共享經濟平臺的智能手機，”拜哲寫道。“但是，還有一部分原因可能是文化的障礙。”

For individuals, the sharing economy is helping to save – or even create – money and time for consumers, and may even help those with less money the most. However, the new model is so new that it, along with the research and data to go with it, hasn’t fully caught on.

對於個人來說，共享經濟正在幫助消費者節省——甚至創造——金錢和時間，對於那些低收入者也許幫助最大。然而，根據相關研究和數據發現，這種新模式纔剛開始出現，還沒有完全流行起來。