第1章 经济学的思维方式 问题与讨论
1. 人们如果想进行有效的合作，互相得有多少了解？比较下面两种情况：其一，两个家庭成员计划去度假；其二，两个摩托车手同时经过路口。在这两种情况下，如何避免“撞车”？为了供应你今天的早饭，有多少人参与了合作？你对他们的兴趣、性情和品格了解多少？
英文困难多的成语：This question highlights the significant but widely-overlooked fact that a great deal of important cooperation occurs among people who know absolutely nothing about one another. A married couple planning a vacation together typically cooperates by using extensive and detailed knowledge of each other's preferences, habits, allergies, and so on. But the people who cooperated to make orange juice, cereal, milk, and coffee available to Boettke this morning didn't even know that Boettke exists or, for the most part, about the existence of the others whose cooperation helped to produce his breakfast. Economic theory is especially useful in explaining how cooperation occurs in cases of the latter sort, and also why cooperation sometimes fails to occur.
中文翻译：这个问题突出了一个重要但被广泛忽视的事实——很多重要合作发生在彼此完全不了解的的人之间。一对计划一起度假的已婚夫妇通过广泛而详细地了解彼此的喜好、爱憎、习惯、过敏史等来合作。但是，今天早上合作橘子汁、麦片、牛奶、咖啡给Boettke的人甚至都不知道Boettke是否存在于世，或者大多数情况下不知道其他人的存在。经济学理论在解释后一种合作如何有效发生，以及为什么有时合作不会发生方面特别有用。
2.如果达拉斯的规划者决定在所有高速公路上留出一条车道给“紧急车辆”，你能预测一下会出什么事吗？“紧急车辆”的定义是：常规车道发生堵车，车上的人可能因此耽误重要的事情。你觉得人们会待在紧急车道以外吗？还是紧急车道也像其他车道一样堵？如果人们都不那么自私，都能顾及他人，这样的想法在时间中成功的可能性会变大吗？
英文：Drivers would have little trouble deciding they were on urgent missions, and the "urgent" lane would probably be just as crowded as all the others. Even in a world of unselfish drivers, it would be impossible for drivers to assess the relative urgency of their own and other drivers' missions. Moreover, the more inconsiderate drivers would be most ready to use the "urgent" lanes, so that such a system would end up providing a tim
e subsidy to the projects of more selfish drivers through a time tax on the projects of more considerate drivers.
遥远的反义词此外，不为他人着想的司机最愿意使用紧急车道，因此这样的交通系统将通过对更体谅他人的司机征收时间税，给更自私的司机提供时间补贴。
3. 当特蕾莎嬷嬷在1979年10月获得诺贝尔和平奖时，想用19万美元的奖金建设一所麻风病院，她是不是在根据自己的利益行事？她这样做是不是利己？她是不是在优化？那么阿尔·戈尔承诺将他2007年诺贝尔奖的150万美元奖金捐给气候保护联盟呢？
英文：Since Mother Teresa was interested in building a leprosarium（麻风病院）, she clearly furthered her own interest in doing so. But it would be odd to call this "selfish behavior." Acting in one's own interest is selfish only if one's interests are selfish. Contrary to what many economists carelessly assert, economic theory does not assume t
hat everyone behaves selfishly. Perhaps economists even mislead people when they say that "people act in their own interest." It might be better to say that people act to promote the projects in which they are interested. That avoids the misleading suggestion that economic theory postulates selfish or greedy behavior. It does not do so. Did Mother Teresa economize? Sure. She decided how to best use her $190,000 award. She could have donated it all to the Jerry Lewis Telethon, invested it in Yahoo! stock, or donated it for the purchase of new books at the Calcutta Library. She instead used the award to promote what she believed was the most urgent project demanding her attention. Because that award could have been used for other valuable projects, she economized. She selected the most valuable use – in her view -- for that money.
护士工作计划中文翻译：由于特蕾莎修女一直想要建麻风病院，（获得奖金）很明显进一步激发了她这样做的兴趣。但把这种行为称为“自私的行为”是很奇怪的。只有当自己的利益是自私时，为自利行事才是自私的。与很多经济学家漫不经心的断言相反，经济理论并不认为每个人都表现得自私。也许经济学家甚至在说“人们为自己的利益行事”时误导了人们，说人们采取行动是为了促进他们感兴趣的项目可能更好。这避免了经济理论假设自私或贪婪行为的
误导性暗示。它没有这样做。
贵都国际花城特蕾莎修女是不是在节约优化？当然。她决定如何最好地利用她的奖金。她本可以把所有东西都捐给Jerry Lewis Telethon、投资Yahoo股票，或者捐赠给Calcutta Library购买新书。但是她利用这个奖项来宣传她认为最紧迫最需要关注的项目。因为这个奖项本来可以用于其他有价值的项目，所以她节省了成本。在她看来，她选择了最有价值的用途来支付这笔钱。
4.有报纸报道说三分之二的母亲在外面工作是“为了钱，而不是自愿的选择”。这二者是真正意义上的选择吗？不是为了钱，就是自愿的选择吗？
英文：The author of that newspaper item was probably trying to distinguish between mothers whose primary goal is additional income when they choose to work, and mothers whose primary goal is something else, such as the satisfaction of a fulfilling career, or an opportunity to escape the insistent demands of their children. But both kinds of mothers choose to work, although some choose joyfully and others no doubt choose with sadness and regret.
中文翻译：报纸作者可能是试图区分为增加额外收入而工作的妈妈和为其他事情比如满足充实的职业、或有机会逃避子女的妈妈。
尽管有的选择是快乐有的选择带着悲伤和遗憾，但是这两种妈妈都选择工作。
个人思考：钱是为了更好地生活，为了在交易中用自己所有（他人所需）去换取自己所需（他人所有）的。
5. 金钱的激励有多重要？1995年5月1日的《华尔街日报》报道了卡普兰教育中心进行的一项调查的结果，调查对象是即将参加法学院入学考试的学生。所提的问题是，什么东西吸引他们从事法律事业。只有8%的人回答说他们是受到高薪吸引，但62%的人认为别人是受到高薪吸引。你如何解释这种不一致？
英文蝙蝠侠观看顺序：We could interpret these results as evidence that people are ashamed to admit an interest in financial rewards. Alternatively, the results may indicate that people are less charitable in judging other people's behavior than in judging their own. People recognize the complexity of their own motivations more readily than they concede the complexity of
other people's motivations. But even if the financial rewards are not a prime factor in most people's decision to attend law school, they surely play some role in almost everyone's choice. Changes in the income prospects of lawyers will therefore affect the number of people choosing to enter law school.
发布评论