金錢能夠買到幸福嗎?
Money really can buy happiness andrecessions can take it away
金錢確實能夠買到幸福，而經(jīng)濟衰退又會將幸福帶走
Polls from 145 countries show that citizensof wealthier ones are more satisfied and secure
來自145個國家的民意調(diào)查顯示，富裕國家的民眾對生活更滿意，也更有安全感
Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the mostcommon gauge of national prosperity, has taken a lot of flak in recent years.Critics say that counting a country’s spending on goods, services andinvestment misses the full value that citizens get from products such as Googleand Facebook. They also note that GDP ignores other aspects of development,including personal health, leisure time and happiness.
國內(nèi)生產(chǎn)總值(GDP)是衡量一個國家繁榮程度最常用的指標，然而近年來卻飽受爭議。批評者認為，GDP僅僅衡量了一個國家在商品、服務和投資中創(chuàng)造的價值，而完全忽略了人們從谷歌和臉書等產(chǎn)品中獲得的價值。此外，他們還指出，GDP忽略了包括個人健康、閑暇時光和幸福感等在內(nèi)的衡量國家發(fā)展的其他方面指標。
These criticisms probably exaggerate GDP’sfailure to capture the wealth of nations. Gallup, a pollster, has asked peoplein 145 countries about various aspects of well-being. Many of these correlatestrongly with GDP per person. To take an obvious example, nearly all residentsin the top 10% of countries by spending say they have enough money for food,compared with just two-fifths of those in the bottom 10%.
這些批評聲可能夸大了GDP未能體現(xiàn)國家財富的問題。民意調(diào)查機構(gòu)蓋洛普就幸福的有關方面對145個國家的民眾進行了調(diào)查。其中許多方面都與人均GDP密切相關。舉個顯而易見的例子，在消費水平排名前10%的國家中，幾乎所有被調(diào)查者都表示他們有足夠的錢去購買食物，而在排名后10%的國家中，只有40%的被調(diào)查者表示有足夠的錢去購買食物。
Strikingly, many non-financial indicatorsalso track GDP per person closely. Residents in the top 10% of countries scoretheir life situation as seven out of ten, compared with just four for those inthe bottom 10%. They are also more likely to feel supported by their families,safe in their neighbourhoods and be trusting of their politicians—though theycomplain nearly as much as people in poor countries do about a lack of rest andaffordable housing.
更為顯著的是，許多非財務指標也與人均GDP密切相關。消費水平排名前10%的國家的居民給自己生活狀況的打分為7分(滿分為10分)，而排名后10%的國家的居民只打了4分。此外，高消費水平地區(qū)的民眾也更有可能感受到家庭的溫暖、社區(qū)的安全以及對政府的信任，盡管他們和貧窮國家的人們一樣，也會抱怨缺乏休息和買不起房。
Scholars disagree over the extent to whichnational wealth itself causes contentment. Some countries’ citizens haveremained glum even as GDP per person has risen, a paradox noted by RichardEasterlin, an American economist. But one way of testing if money buyshappiness is to analyse what happens when it goes away.
對于國家財富本身能夠帶來多大程度的滿足感，學者們意見不一。美國經(jīng)濟學家理查德指出，盡管一些國家的人均GDP有所上升，但民眾仍然不快樂。但檢驗金錢是否能夠買到幸福的一種方法就是看看金錢消失后會發(fā)生什么。
Studies of the previous global recession in2009 suggest that economic hardship does indeed lead to emotional woe.Academics found dips in life satisfaction and other measures of well-being inthe United States and several European countries, though the effects weremainly limited to people who lost their jobs.
一項關于2009年全球經(jīng)濟衰退的研究表明，經(jīng)濟下行確實會導致人們情緒上的悲痛。研究人員發(fā)現(xiàn)，在美國和歐洲一些國家，生活滿意度以及其他一些衡量幸福感的指標都有所下降，不過這種影響主要局限于失業(yè)者。
Adam Mayer of Colorado State Universityfound that among Europeans of similar wealth and education, those who hadrecently become unemployed and struggled to buy staple foods had the worstoutlook on life.
科羅拉多州立大學的亞當發(fā)現(xiàn)，在財富水平和教育水平相當?shù)臍W洲人中，那些最近失業(yè)且無力購買主食的人對生活前景最為悲觀。
Covid-19 will allow economists to probethis pattern further. The IMF’s latest forecast points to a fall in global GDP,weighted by purchasing-power parity, of 4.9% this year. If past recessions areany guide, the severe shock will have long-lasting effects.
新冠肺炎將促使經(jīng)濟學家就這一模式進行深入探索。國際貨幣基金組織的最新預測指出，今年全球GDP(以購買力平價衡量)或?qū)⑼认陆?.9%。如果以過去的經(jīng)濟衰退為鑒，那么這次嚴重的沖擊將會產(chǎn)生持久的影響。
Economies will eventually grow larger thanthey were before the pandemic, but will be less rich than they would have beenotherwise. The virus’s human toll is therefore vast in terms of deaths anddollars. But given the correlation between GDP per person and Gallup’s measuresof well-being, it may have an enduring impact on the world’s quality of lifetoo.
各國經(jīng)濟規(guī)模最終將會進一步擴大，但富裕程度會低于疫情發(fā)生前的水平。因此，就死亡人數(shù)和經(jīng)濟損失而言，新冠病毒給人們造成的傷害是巨大的。但考慮到人均GDP與蓋洛普幸福指數(shù)之間的相關性，它可能也會對各國人民的生活質(zhì)量產(chǎn)生持久的影響。
注：雙語全文源自經(jīng)濟學人
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