高中英语外刊阅读24-当经济激励产生反效果

1、原文期刊：哈佛商业评论 原文标题： When Economic Incentives Backfire本文就经济激励产生适得其反结果的现象做了深入探讨。这是一篇现象分析型文章， 按照 指出现象一一分析现象一一总结全文”的脉络展开论述，可以分为三大部分【原文】I Organizations and societies rely on fines and rewards to harness people's self-interest in the service of the common good. The threat of a ticket keeps drivers in li

2、ne, and the promise of a bonus inspires high performance. But incentives can also backfire, diminishing the very behavior they're meant to encourage.n Experimental economists have found that offering to pay women for donating blood decreases the number willing to donate by almost half, and that

3、letting them contribute the payment to charity reverses the effect. Consider another example: When six day-care centers in Haifa, Israel, began fining parents for late pickups, the number of late parents doubled. The fine seems to have reduced their ethical obligation to avoid inconveniencing the te

4、achers and let them to think of lateness as simply a commodity they could purchase.in Dozens of recent experiments show that rewarding self-interest with economic incentives can backfire when they undermine what Adam Smith called “themoral sentiments. The psychology here has confused blackboard econ

5、omists, but it will be no surprise to people in business: When we take a job or buy a car, we are not only trying to get stuff - we are also trying to be a certain kind of person. People desire to be esteemed by others and to be seen as ethical and dignified. And they don't want to be taken for

6、suckers. Rewarding blood donations may backfire because it suggests that the donor is less interested in being unselfish than in making a buck.IV Perhaps most important, incentives affect what our actions signal, whether we're being selfinterested or civic-minded, manipulated or trusted, and the

7、y can imply - sometimes wrongly - what motivates us. Fines or public blames that appeal to our moral sentiments by signaling social disapproval (think of littering) can be highly effective. But incentives go wrong when they offend or diminish our ethical sensibilities.V This does not mean it's i

8、mpossible to appeal to self-interested and ethical motivations at the same time - just that efforts to do so often fail. Ideally, policies support socially valued ends not only by harnessing self-interest but also by encouraging public-spiritedness. The small tax on plastic grocery bags enacted in I

9、reland in 2002 that resulted in their virtual elimination appears to have had such an effect. It punished offenders monetarily while conveying a moral message. Carrying a plastic bag joined wearing a fur coat in the gallery of antisocial out-dated substances.VI Understanding why Irish shoppers respo

10、nded positively to the fine, unlike Haifa parents, is the next challenge. How to reliably design collaborative incentives will be a hot topic for behavioral economists in the coming years. Meanwhile, organizational and social policy makers would do well to examine their incentive systems to see whet

11、her they're unwittingly encouraging the opposite of the behavior they desire.【词汇短语】1 .backfire ?b?k?fa?r） v.产生事与愿违的不良（或危险）后果2 .civic-minded a.热心公益的3 .harness?h a :n?s控制1.1 ncentive ?n?sent? n.激励，刺激5 .reverse r?v?:s v.使完全相反6 .undermine ?nd?ma?i v.逐渐削弱（信心、权威等）7 .appeal to sth 启发8 .blackboard econo

12、mics黑板经济学，指新古典（微观）经济学理论成立的前提条件过于抽 象，不能解决实际经济（社会）问题。罗纳德 哈里科斯曾把西方二十世纪初形成的主流 经济学称之为黑板经济学”，这种经济学只注重抽象的演算，忽视现实的经济现象，就如同闭门造车。9 .do well最好还是10 .go wrong 出问题11.in line排成队12 .make a buck 挣钱13 .take for错认某人为【翻译点评】I Organizations and societies rely on fines and rewards to harness people's self-interest in

13、the service of the common good.The threat of a ticket keeps drivers in line, and the promise of a bonus inspires high performance. But incentives can also backfire, diminishing the very behavior they're meant to encourage.翻译：各类组织和团体依靠罚款和奖金来控制人们在公益服务中的自私自利。交通违 章罚款单的威胁可使驾车者保持队列，而关于奖金红利的许诺可以激发高业绩。但

14、是 激励也可能产生适得其反的结果一一减少原本想要鼓励的行为。点评：第一、二段为第一部分，提出观点：经济激励可能起到与预期相反的效果。前 两段提到了两类例子，形成段间转折关系。第一段前两句用两个例子表明，经济激励 （赏、罚）可以控制人们在公益服务中的自私自利（开罚单这种经济激励惩罚自私自利，控制了要遏制的行为；红利许诺这种经济激励奖励私利，鼓励了好表现）。末句出现转折指出，经济激励可能适得其反。n Experimental economists have found that offering to pay women for donating blood decreases the numbe

15、r willing to donate by almost half, and that letting them contribute the payment to charity reverses the effect. ® Consider another example: When six day-care centers in Haifa, Israel, began fining parents for late pickups, the number of late parents doubled. The fine seems to have reduced thei

16、r ethical obligation to avoid inconveniencing the teachers and let them to think of lateness as simply a commodity they could purchase.翻译：实验经济学家发现，给捐血女性提供报酬使愿意捐血的人数减少了将近一半， 而让她们将捐血所得贡献给福利事业扭转了这个局面。来看看另一个例子：当以色列 海法市的六间日托中心开始对接孩子迟到的家长罚款时，迟到的家长人数翻了一番。 罚款似乎减少了家长们避免带给老师不便的道德责任，并使他们认为迟到只不过是一 件可以购买的商品。点评：第

17、二段用两个例子（向捐血女性提供报酬这种经济激励却导致意在鼓励的行为减 少；对接孩子迟到的家长罚款这种经济激励经济却导致本想遏制的行为增加）说明第一段末句。田 Dozens of recent experiments show that rewarding self-interest with economic incentives can backfire when they undermine what Adam Smith called “themoral sentiments.The psychology here has confused blackboard economists,

18、but it will be no surprise to people in business: When we take a job or buy a car, we are not only trying to get stuff - we are also trying to be a certain kind of person. People desire to be esteemed by others and to be seen as ethical and dignified.And they don't want to be taken for suckers.

19、®Rewarding blood donations may backfire because it suggests that the donor is less interested in being unselfish than in making a buck.翻译：大量近期的实验表明，以经济激励奖赏私利可能产生适得其反的结果，如果这 些激励损害了亚当斯密所说的道德情操黑板式经济学家对这种心理感到难以理解， 但是商界人士对此不会有丝毫惊讶：当我们接受一个工作或购买一辆汽车时，我们不 仅在试图取得某样东西，我们也在试图成为某一类型的人。人们希望受到他人尊重， 希望被看作是具有高

20、尚道德和美好情操的人。而且他们不想被误认为是贪小便宜的人。奖励捐血之所以可能产生适得其反的结果，是因为它暗含捐血者对无私奉献的兴趣少于对挣钱的热衷”之意。点评：第三至五段为第二部分，分析现象原因。第三段首句和上文衔接，对前两段的 论点给予实验支持，并进一步给出实验解释：经济激励适得其反是因为它损害到道德 情操。第二句先让步，指出这一解释违背黑板式经济学家（不考虑现实，只抽象研究经济理论）”的看法，然后转折指出，但为熟悉实际经济现象的人所理解：经济行为往 往混合着道德诉求。第三、四明确指出，人们的经济行为中也包含着对高尚道德和美 好情操的追求。末句举例说明前文：奖励捐血适得其反，是因为它损害了捐

21、血者无私 奉献的情操（捐血者意在 无私奉献”而非为了求得经济回报）。IV Perhaps most important, incentives affect what our actions signal, whether we're being self-interested or civic-minded, manipulated or trusted, and they can imply - sometimes wrongly - what motivates us. Fines or public blames that appeal to our moral sentime

22、nts by signaling social disapproval (think of littering) can be highly effective. But incentives go wrong when they offend or diminish our ethical sensibilities.翻译：或许最为重要的是，激励影响我们的行为所传达的信息：我们是自私自利还是热心公益，被操控还是被信任，而且激励可以暗示一一有时错误地暗示一一我们的动机是什么。通过传达社会的不赞同来启发我们的道德情操的罚款或者公开批评（如乱丢垃圾）颇具成效。可是一旦触犯或者削弱了我们的道德感情，

23、激励就会出问题。点评：第四段在第三段的基础上进行推进，进一步解释 道德情感会影响经济激励效果 的原因：激励手段表明我们的行为动机 （为了私利还是为了公益）是否得到信任，且会反 影响我们的动机。后两句说明第一句，对激励进行分类：有效的激励：迎合人们的道德情操；无效的激励：削弱我们的道德感情V This does not mean it's impossible to appeal to self-interested and ethical motivations at the same time - just that efforts to do so often fail. Idea

24、lly, policies support socially valued ends not only by harnessing self-interest but also by encouraging public-spiritedness. The small tax on plastic grocery bags enacted in Ireland in 2002 that resulted in their virtual elimination appears to have had such an effect.It punished offenders monetarily

25、 while conveying a moral message. Carrying a plastic bag joined wearing a fur coat in the gallery of antisocial out-dated substances.翻译：这并不意味着同时启发自私自利且合乎道德的动机是不可能的一一只是这样的努力往往以失败告终。理想的状况下，政策不但要通过治理自私，而且要通过鼓励公 共道德来拥护社会上受重视的目标。2002年爱尔兰通过的向塑料杂货袋征收小额税款（的法案）取得了实际上消除塑料袋的结果，这似乎就起到了这样的效果。它在从金钱 上惩罚违规者的同时，也传达了一种道德信息。在反社会、过时事物展览馆里，携带 塑料袋加入了穿着皮衣的行列。点评：第五段继续推进观点，首句让步指出既鼓励私利又迎合道德情操