VOA慢速英語：美國經(jīng)濟學家理查德·塞勒榮獲2017年諾貝爾經(jīng)濟學獎

American Wins Nobel Prize in Economics
美國經(jīng)濟學家獲得2017年諾貝爾經(jīng)濟學獎

American economist Richard Thaler has won the 2017 Nobel Prize for Economics.

美國經(jīng)濟學家理查德·塞勒榮獲2017年諾貝爾經(jīng)濟學獎。

Thaler was recognized for his work as a behavioral economist. That means he studies the reasons behind the economic decisions people make.

塞勒是行為經(jīng)濟學的代表人物，主要研究人們經(jīng)濟決策背后的原因。

Thaler received the prize partly for his research into why people often make irrational financial decisions. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced the $1.1 million prize on Monday.

塞勒獲得此獎項的部分原因是其研究為什么人們總會做出非理性的金融決策。瑞士皇家科學院于周一宣布授予塞勒110萬美元的獎金。

Speaking of the prize money, Thaler told reporters in Chicago after the announcement, “I will spend it as irrationally as possible.”

在談及獎金時，在芝加哥接受采訪時塞勒告訴記者：“我會盡可能非理性的花費這筆錢。”

Things people do to make financial decisions

人們在做經(jīng)濟決策時會做的事情

The award committee said Thaler explored “the consequences of limited rationality, social preferences, and lack of self-control.” It said the American economist’s work has shown how human qualities affect people’s individual decisions and the movements of financial markets.

瑞典皇家科學院解釋說：“通過探索有限理性、社會偏好以及自制力缺乏所導致的結(jié)果，他揭示了這些人類特征如何系統(tǒng)性地影響個人決定和市場結(jié)果。”

Thaler developed the theory of “mental accounting.” It describes how people create separate accounts in their minds to try to simplify financial decision-making.

塞勒對心理賬戶理論的發(fā)展做出了突出的貢獻。心理賬戶理論解釋了人們?nèi)绾卧陬^腦中創(chuàng)建多個獨立的賬戶以簡化經(jīng)濟決策。

He described how this can lead to less rational financial decisions like saving for a vacation while paying high credit card interest.

塞勒解釋道，這會如何導致缺乏理性的經(jīng)濟決策，例如在為旅游省錢的同時也在支付著高額的信用卡利息。

His research, Bloomberg noted, showed that people often choose short-term pleasures, “which is why many people fail to plan and save for old age.”

彭博社這樣寫道，“塞勒的研究顯示人們經(jīng)常會貪圖短期的快樂，“而這也是為什么許多人不能計劃或者成功為老年儲蓄的原因。”

The Reuters said Thaler’s research showed that such traits “as lack of self-control and fear of losing what you already have” can cause people to make bad short-term decisions.

路透社寫到塞勒的研究表明“缺乏自控、害怕失去已經(jīng)所擁有的”等特征會導致人們做一些糟糕的短期決策。

One of those, Thaler noted, was keeping stock shares that have lost value or selling them too soon when they have gained value.

塞勒解釋道，其中的一點就是囤積已經(jīng)不具有投資價值的股票或者過早拋售增值的股票。

Thaler helped develop the “nudge” theory. It is the idea that small incentives can influence people to make good decisions. He said people should be permitted to make their own choices, but society “should actively try to guide individuals in the right direction.”

塞勒對推動了“助推”理論的發(fā)展。該理論即小的動機會影響人們做出有益的決策。塞勒表示，應該讓人們自己抉擇，但是社會也應該“積極地往正確的方向指導人們。”

Cass Sunstein and Thaler wrote about the idea in the 2008 book “Nudge.”

塞勒和桑斯坦于2008年合著了著作《助推》。

The theory has been used by political candidates as they work to influence voters and government officials seeking to make changes in society.

政治候選人曾利用該理論影響選民和政府官員，進而試圖改變社會。

Other areas also interested Thaler. He studied fairness. He found that people can accept increasing prices if the costs of many things are going up. But he found that they strongly disapprove of companies that raise prices simply because of high demand for one product.

塞勒還涉獵其他領(lǐng)域。他曾研究公平。塞勒發(fā)現(xiàn)，倘若商品的成本上漲，人們也會接受物價提高。但是對于公司因某物品需求量高而提高物價的行為，人們會強烈反對。

Bloomberg called Thaler’s Nobel Prize “a reward for 40 years of work spent studying human bias and temptation.”

對于塞勒獲得諾貝爾經(jīng)濟學獎，彭博社這樣評價道“耗時40年研究人類偏好和誘惑所獲得的獎勵。”

Thaler is considered one of the first behavioral economists. His field, once criticized, has grown in popularity among economists over the last 10 years.

塞勒被認為是行為經(jīng)濟學的先驅(qū)者。他的研究領(lǐng)域曾受到人們的批評，但是在過去10年，行為經(jīng)濟學越來受經(jīng)濟學家的歡迎。

The economist even briefly appeared in the 2010 movie, “The Big Short,” about the global financial crisis.

這位經(jīng)濟學家在2010年的電影《大空頭》中曾簡短亮相?！洞罂疹^》這部電影主要講述了全球金融危機。

Thaler is a professor of behavioral science and economics at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

塞勒是芝加哥大學布斯商學院的行為科學和經(jīng)濟學的教授。

The economics prize was created in 1968 in memory of Alfred Nobel after his death. Since then, 79 individuals have received the prize. The first woman winner was Elinor Ostrom in 2009.

諾貝爾經(jīng)濟學獎于1968年為紀念阿爾弗雷德·諾貝爾而創(chuàng)建。之后，有79人獲得了此獎項。2009年，奧斯特羅姆成為歷史上第一個獲得諾貝爾經(jīng)濟學獎的女性。

American have received about half of the Nobel Prizes for economics.

對于獲得此獎項的人員，其中美國人約占半數(shù)。

I’m Mario Ritter.

馬里奧·里特為您報道。