我们今天要谈的话题是 efficiency - 效率。
经济学家认为,单纯就市场机制本身来说,它应该能有效率地分配宝贵的资源。那么什么是效率呢?澳大利亚新南威尔士大学管理学教授弗莱德希尔莫归纳了这样几种基本的效率:
1 productive efficiency 生产效率,讲的是如何生产的问题,通常要以最低成本来获得最好的效率2 allocative efficiency 配置效率,生产何种产品,如何分配人力物力资源3 dynamic efficiency 动态效率,改革创新、适应消费者对产品和服务要求的改变
希尔莫教授对这几种效率作了这样的解释:
The simplest is what we call productive efficiency. I make bricks. When I make bricks, how can I make the brick with the lowest amount of energy, the lowest amount of materials and the lowest amount of labour? And that s productive efficiency. So I m the most efficient brick producer if I can make the cheapest brick.
希尔莫教授说,最基本的效率是通常所说的 “生产效率”。比如我生产砖,要考虑在制砖时怎样只消耗最低限度的能源、最低限度的材料和最低限度的劳动力。这就是生产效率。如果我能够生产成本最低的砖,我就是最有效率的制砖工人。
The second form of efficiency is what s called allocative efficiency, which is where I allocate1 the resource to the activity which earns the highest return.
第二种形式的效率是我们所称的“配置效率”,就是说要把人力物力资源投入盈利最高的生产活动中。
The third kind of efficiency is dynamic efficiency and that would occur where the world is changing and I m not the best producer of bricks. But I am actually very good at designing innovative2 bricks - bricks that lock together in ways that make it easier for builders, bricks with colours and textures3 that consumers like, that the builder who wants a bit of flair4 will strive for. And so I could be dynamically very efficient and actually get a higher price for my bricks.
第三种效率是“动态效率”。世界在不断变化,我不是最好的制砖工人,但我实际上很擅长设计具有创新意味的砖,比如砖与砖结合在一起的方式使建筑工人工作起来更简单方便、砖的颜色和纹路更受顾客欢迎,那些想有些变化的建筑工都愿意使用。因此我会获得出色的动态效率,卖出比较高的价格。
下面我们再听一遍澳大利亚新南威尔士大学管理学教授希尔莫谈话的全文。
我们再复习一遍希尔莫教授提到的三种效率的英文:
1 productive efficiency 生产效率2 allocative efficiency 配置效率3 dynamic efficiency 动态效率
希尔莫教授接下来又就澳大利亚目前的生产效率情况谈了他的看法。他说:
Today in Australia I think that the allocative and the dynamic efficiency is much more important. I mean, we aren t going to be able to compete against low wage and low cost countries by just making a cheaper brick. We have to come up with better designs, better quality, software and services that enhance our products. And when we talk about efficiency in those terms we tend to talk about dynamic efficiency and allocative efficiency.
希尔莫教授认为,现在在澳大利亚,配置效率和动态效率更为重要。因为澳大利亚人很难在制造低成本产品方面同低工资和低成本的国家竞争。因此澳大利亚必须要以更好的设计、更好的质量和软件以及更好的服务来强化它的产品。在这种情况下谈及效率,往往 更多的是指动态效率和配置效率。
下面我们再听一遍希尔莫教授这段谈话的原文。
澳洲广播电台金融节目主持人巴里克拉克对希尔莫教授的谈话作了补充。 他从生产什么、怎样生产和为谁生产这几个基本经济问题的角度解释了效率问题。他还补充说,除了这三种基本的效率之外,还有一种效率,叫做 exchange efficiency,交换效率:
Technical or productive efficiency looks at the "how we produce" question and refers to the least cost method, that is the least use of our resources. Allocative efficiency, or product-mix efficiency addresses the "what we produce" question and measures how well resources are allocated5 between the production of different goods and services. Dynamic efficiency focuses on innovation and measures how well a producer adapts to changes in consumers tastes for different goods and services.
他说,技术或生产效率针对的是如何生产的问题,涉及的是成本最低的生产方法。分配效率,或者称作“多向生产效率”,讲的是生产什么以及衡量是否在不同产品和服务之间恰当地分配了资源。动态效率则注重于革新,衡量生产者能否追随顾客对各种产品和服务兴趣的变化而改革自己的生产。
And there s another type of efficiency - what s referred to as exchange efficiency and this impacts on the "for whom" question. It may be efficient to price telephone services out of the reach of people in rural Autralia, but it is not equitable6 to do so. Exchange efficiency always involves a trade-off between equity7 and efficiency.
巴里克拉克说,还有另外一种效率,称作“交换效率”。它涉及的是“为谁生产”的问题。在澳大利亚农村地区,如果把电话服务的价格提高到人们无法承受的程度,也许会有经济效益,但这样做是不公平的。交换效率涉及的就是公平与效率之间的平衡问题。
现在我们再听一遍澳广金融节目主持人巴里克拉克的这段讲话。
在结束这一讲之前,我们再复习一遍今天学到的有关效率的几个词:
1 productive efficiency 生产效率2 allocative efficiency 配置效率3 dynamic efficiency 动态效率4 exchange efficiency 交换效率
最后我们再听一遍澳大利亚新南威尔士大学管理学教授希尔莫关于效率的谈话。
这次由澳洲广播电台Radio Australia中文部为您制作的金融世界节目到这里就结束了,谢谢您的收听