諾貝爾經濟學獎得主迪頓的三大看法

Angus Deaton has won this year’s Nobel Prize in economics for a string of landmark findings on the study of consumption, which have shaped policy and academic studies across the world.

安格斯迪頓(Angus Deaton)因其在消費研究方面一系列里程碑式的發現而獲得今年的諾貝爾經濟學獎，他的發現影響到了世界各地的政策和學術研究。

From global inequality to foreign aid, the 69-year old Scottish academic has displayed little hesitation in wading into sensitive debates that are linked to his 40-years-long research agenda.

從全球不平等到對外援助，這位69歲的蘇格蘭裔學者毫不猶豫地一頭扎進一些敏感問題的辯論中，這些問題與他40年來的研究課題息息相關。

Hours after receiving the news of his award, Mr Deaton shared with the Financial Times his sometimes controversial views on three of his biggest topics.

得知自己獲獎消息幾小時後，迪頓與英國《金融時報》分享了他對自己所研究的三大課題的看法，這些看法有時可能會引起爭議。

Inequality

不平等

From the rise of leftwing populists such as Jeremy Corbyn in the UK, to the unlikely popular Success of Thomas Piketty’s Capital in the 21st century , inequality has become one of the defining issues of this decade.

從英國的傑里米科爾賓(Jeremy Corbyn)等左翼民粹主義者的崛起，到托馬斯皮凱蒂(Thomas Piketty)所著《21世紀的資本》(Capital in the 21st Century)意想不到的暢銷，不平等已成爲當下十年具有決定性意義的議題之一。

Mr Deaton agrees it is important, but also has a more nuanced view than some of his colleagues who have also studied economic disparities.

迪頓贊同這一議題具有重要性，但與一些同樣也研究經濟不平等的經濟學家相比，他的觀點更加微妙。

“Inequality is an enormously complicated thing, that is both good and bad,” he says.

他說：“不平等是一件極爲複雜之事，有利也有弊。”

The Princeton academic believes that excess inequality can produce some negative side effects, ranging from the demise of public services to the erosion of democracy. But at the same time, inequalities can also be a product of success, for example when they are the result of successful entrepreneurship.

這位任職於美國普林斯頓大學(Princeton University)的學者認爲，過度不平等會產生一些副作用——從公共服務的缺失到民主遭侵蝕。但與此同時，不平等也可以是成功的產物，比如當它們是創業成功的結果之時。

“Success breeds inequality, and you don’t want to choke off success,” he adds.

“成功會導致不平等，你當然不想扼殺成功，”他補充說。

He is also sceptical of measures such as very high income tax rates as an antidote to growing disparities.

他還懷疑很高的所得稅稅率等措施無法解決不斷擴大的貧富差距。

“We already have redistributive policies in place,” he says. “Putting, say, an 85 per cent income tax rate is unlikely to bring in much revenue.”

“我們早已有了再分配政策，”他說，“比方說，即使實行85%的所得稅稅率，也不大可能增加多少財政收入。”

Foreign aid

對外援助

Development economics has been dominated by a controversy over the effectiveness of foreign aid, with some, including William Easterly, an academic at New York University, arguing that it may do more harm than good.

圍繞對外援助有效性的爭議，是發展經濟學中的一大問題，包括紐約大學(New York University)的威廉伊斯特利(William Easterly)在內的一些學者認爲，對外援助或許弊大於利。

Mr Deaton acknowledges that aid can be extremely useful, for example when it helps to fund hospitals and cure children who would otherwise die.

迪頓承認，援助可以帶來極大的幫助，如幫助援建醫院、救治那些如果不治療就會死去的兒童。

“That’s got to be a good thing,” he says.

他說：“這是件好事。”

However, much in the spirit of Mr Easterly, he too believes that excessive foreign aid can have unintended consequences, in that it can lead to corruption and create social tensions between the ruling elites and the public.

然而，與伊斯特利的觀點相仿，他也認爲過度的對外援助會產生意想不到的後果，可能導致腐敗並在統治精英與民衆之間造成社會關係緊張。

Building on his 2013 book, The Great Escape, he puts forward two concrete ideas. The first is to cap the amount of foreign aid going to each country to, say, 50 per cent of its revenues.

在《逃離不平等》（The Great Escape，2013年出版）一書觀點的基礎上，他提出了兩點具體建議。第一是對一個國家所能接收的外國援助金額與其財政收入的比例設定上限，比如說50%。

The second is to push forward a “global public goods agenda”, which ensures that more aid money is spent on addressing longstanding problems such as mortal diseases, even if this means funding more research in the rich world.

第二是制定一份“全球公共品議程”，確保援助資金更多地被用於應對絕症等長期存在的問題，即便這意味着把資金更多地投入到富國的科研上。

“I am in favour of giving money not just in Africa, but for Africa,” Mr Deaton says, echoing his fellow academic Jagdish Bhagwati.

“我支持不僅僅向非洲捐款，更要把錢用到符合非洲利益的地方，”迪頓表示。他這裏呼應了另一位學者賈格迪什巴格瓦蒂(Jagdish Bhagwati)的觀點。

Poverty measurement

貧困的衡量標準

Last month, the World Bank revised the official poverty line, pushing it up from $1.25 per day to $1.90. Mr Deaton, a longstanding critic of the poverty line, thought this was an improvement, but remained sceptical.

上個月，世界銀行(World Bank)將官方的貧困線標準從每人每天1.25美元生活費上調到每人每天1.90美元生活費。長期以來對貧困線持批評態度的迪頓認爲，世行此舉體現了進步，但仍值得懷疑。

“Focusing on the number of people who are below the line is like chasing an unicorn through the woods,” he told the FT. “I am not sure it is wise for the World Bank to commit itself so much to this project”.

“關注貧困線以下的人口數量，就好像是在森林中捕獵一頭獨角獸，”他對英國《金融時報》表示，“我不確定世行在這方面投入這麼大精力是否明智。”

He thinks there is a lot more to poverty than just cash and cites India as an example of a country that has grown substantially in terms of per capita income but where education and health outcomes can often be dismal.

他認爲貧困不僅僅是錢的問題，並舉印度爲例：該國的人均收入已大幅升高，但國民教育和健康狀況仍經常令人沮喪。

“I very much follow the thinking of Amartya Sen, though I am probably more interested than him in the issue of measurement” he says, citing the Harvard economist and fellow Nobel laureate who has argued that one should move beyond money to understand changes in wellbeing.

他說：“我非常認同阿瑪蒂亞森(Amartya Sen)的想法，儘管我與他相比可能對如何衡量貧困更感興趣。”哈佛大學(Harvard)經濟學家、同樣是諾貝爾經濟學獎得主的瑪蒂亞森主張，人們應當跳出錢的視角，去理解福利的變化。

“There is more than just measuring income, though of course one can measure other things.”

“我們不能僅僅衡量收入水平，顯然還可以衡量其他方面。”

He also criticised the 17 “sustainable development goals”, a set of targets and initiatives to reduce poverty promoted by the UN that world leaders committed themselves to last month. “I am not a great fan, there is no way to measure them. A lot of it is just people trying to make themselves feel better.”

他還批評了17個“可持續發展目標”——那是上月由聯合國(UN)倡議、世界各國領導人承諾實施的一組減貧目標與舉措。“我不是特別贊同它們，沒有辦法對它們進行衡量。提出這麼多目標，不過是人們試圖讓自己感覺好一些。”