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Hi, I'm Jacob Clifford and I'm the host of Crash Course Economics. Stan!
你好！我是经济学速成班的主持人雅各布·克利福德。斯坦！
Hi, I'm Adriene Hill and I'm the host of Crash Course economics. Stan!
嗨！我是经济学速成班的主持人埃德因·希尔。斯坦！
You're a team! You're co-hosts.
你们是一组的搭档主持！
All right, awesome. Yeah, whooo!
好啊，听起来不错。太好了！
Well anyways, we're making our Crash Course Economics series at the YouTube space in lovely Los Angeles, California
不管怎么说，我们一起在加州洛杉矶的“YouTube space”网站上制作经济学速成班系列课程，
because Mr. Clifford and I are both from Southern California. Yeah.
因为我和克利福德先生都来自南加州。没错！
Who are these no-names!?
那两个呆瓜是谁？
Where are the Green brothers? If there aren't any Greens, I'm unsubscribing.
格林兄弟不在吗？他不在我就退出了。
Wh...how can you unsubscribe? What is this, some kind of a moving newspaper?
你怎么可以退出？这是什么？移动报纸？
Did we just get heckled by the muppets?
难道我们被木偶质问了吗？
It sounds like it.
看起来是这样。
Hey guys, hey guys listen, don't feel bad about not being green, OK?
嗨，嗨，听着，不要羡慕哥是绿色的，好吗？
It's Kermit! That's crazy!
噢！是克米特！不是吧！
Hi guys, uh listen, being green is great and everything
好吧，我知道我很厉害，
but being Adriene and Mr. Clifford well, that's great, too!
但你们做自己也很好啊！
In fact, you know guys, it's not easy being green.
事实上，伟大也不容易。
I think I could sing a song about that.
我觉得我可以唱一首歌
Can I sing with you?
可以让我合唱吗？
Oh course, yeah. This is a dream. This is a dream.
当然，来吧。这是我的梦想！太好了！
No, no, no, we can't afford the licensing agreement for that song guys, economics. Sorry.
噢，别别别，我们没有这首歌的版权，这也是经济学。抱歉。
Oh. Oh. Well, in that case, why don't you guys just introduce yourselves?
哦，哦，那好吧。不如你们先介绍一下自己吧？
OK. I'm Mr. Clifford, and I'm a high school economics teacher and YouTuber,
好的。我是克利福德，一位教经济学的高中老师和“油管人”，
and I'm going to focus on teaching you the theories and graphs of economics.
我将着重教你经济学理论和图表。
You know, the textbook stuff.
嗯，就是教科书上的东西。
And I'm Adriene Hill; I'm a senior reporter for the public radio show Marketplace,
我是埃德因，是公共广播Marketplace的高级记者，
and I'm gonna focus on showing you the real world applications of economics.
我将重点向你展示现实世界中经济学的应用。
You know, the good stuff. The really fun stuff.
就是那些超有趣的东西。
Hey! We're both fun! We're definitely not gonna teach economics like this:
嘿！我们的课都挺好玩的！我们的经济学绝对不是这样的：
Welcome to CrashCourse Economics I am thrilled to be teaching you this fascinating subject.
欢迎来到经济学速成班，我很高兴能够教你有趣的经济学。
I'm sorry Professor Honeydew, but that's why people hate economics in high school and college.
对不起，蜜瓜教授，这就是人们恨高中和大学里经济学的原因。
Anyway, Statler and Waldorf have a point,
总之，斯塔特勒和沃尔多夫有一个观点，
the most important question in economics is "Where's John Green?"
经济学中最重要的问题是“约翰·格林在哪儿？”
I mean everyone knows he won a bronze medal in economics at the Alabama State Academic Decathlon.
我的意思是每个人都知道他在“阿拉巴马州立学术十项全能”中获得了一枚经济学铜牌，
Well, John Green isn't hosting because economics. We'll explain later.
但约翰·格林不是因为经济学才做到的。我们稍后会解释。
So let's start with the basics. What is economics?
那么我们从简单的开始说吧。什么是经济学？
Well, it might be easier to term it what economics isn't.
可能说什么不是经济学更容易一些。
Economics is not the study of money or getting rich,
经济学不是对发财的研究，
although understanding economics can help with that.
虽然可以用经济学来理解它们。
Economics is not the study of the stock market. It's just not.
而且，经济学不是研究股市的。这不是它的工作。
And economics is not primarily about men in bow-ties forecasting what will happen in a given market or the overall economy.
经济学的主要作用不是专业人士在特定市场或整体经济中预测未来。
Actually, a few economists do that, but that's not the main focus of economics.
事实上，一些经济学家做这些，但这不是经济学的主要焦点。
Economics is the study of people and choices.
经济学研究的是人和选择。
The famous economist Alfred Marsh defined economics as
著名经济学家阿尔弗雷德·马什定义经济学是
"A study of man (And woman!) in the ordinary business of life.
“对人类生活中日常事务的研究。
It inquires how he gets his income and how he uses it.
它询问人如何获得收入和支出
Thus, it is on the one side the study of wealth
因此，它一方面研究财富，
and on the other and more important side a study of man (And woman)."
另一方面也是更重要的一面是研究人。
So let's talk a minute about what else econ is.
那么让我们简单谈谈经济学是什么吧。
Economics is an 18 year old deciding whether to work or go to college
一个18岁的学生决定工作还是上大学，
and how that affects her future income.
并且这种选择如何影响他今后的收入，是经济学。
Economics is a company deciding whether to produce smartphones or tablets
一个公司决定生产智能手机还是平板电脑，
and how that's influenced by what we consumers want to buy.
以及它如何受到消费者购买欲的影响，这是经济学。
Economics is the government deciding whether to increase its spending when there's a recession and if it's worth going into debt.
政府在经济衰退时是决定增加支出还是负债，也是经济学。
So despite what you might think, economics is not boring and dull.
因此，不管你怎么想，经济学都不枯燥乏味。
OK, some of it is, but it's not all like that I promise! It's awesome.
好了，经济学有些很有趣，但我不承诺所有都这样。它真得很不错。
Understanding econ can forever change the way you think and problem-solve.
了解经济学可以永久改变你思考和解决问题的方式。
Our job over the next 40 weeks is to teach you concepts that will help you understand the world,
我们在未来40周的工作是教你概念，帮助你了解世界，
and hopefully make it a better place.
希望创造出一个更好的世界。
No matter who you are, you will be using economics.
不管你是谁，你都会用到经济学。
In fact, pewww! You are using econ right now,
事实上，您正在使用经济学，
you made a choice to watch this video,
你选择了观看本视频，
that means you must feel that the benefit outweighs the cost.
也就是说你觉得收益胜过成本。
You might be thinking "This is YouTube, there's no cost," but sure there is.
你可能会想：“这是YouTube，没有成本吧，“但它肯定有。
You could be watching videos of kittens or skaters falling on their face or charlie biting fingers. Ow!
你可以看小猫或是滑冰者摔倒撞脸或是查理咬手指的视频。噢！
The cost of watching this video is the video you're not watching, the value of the next best alternative.
观看本视频的成本是你没在看的视频，即下一个最佳选择的价值。
Economists call this your opportunity cost.
经济学家称它是你的机会成本。
If you're still watching this video it means that you believe it's the best use of your time,
如果你还在观看本视频，就意味着你相信这是对时间的最好利用，
or you wouldn't be watching it.
否则你不会看。
"But what if I'm watching this at school?" you ask, "What if I'm forced to watch this?"
“但万一我是在学校看得呢？“你问：“如果我被迫看它呢？”
Well, you weren't forced to go to school, you could ditch, you could drop out,
那好，你不是被迫去上学的，你可以放弃，可以退学，
you could move to a country that doesn't have compulsory education.
可以搬到不具有强制性教育的国家。
But the cost would outweigh the benefit.
但成本会大于收益。
Even if you are at school, you're not forced to watch the video,
即使你在学校没被强制观看视频，
you could close your eyes or put your head down.
但可以闭上眼睛，或者低头。
No one's gonna pry your eyes open, that'd be creepy!
没人要撬你的眼睛把它打开，那简直让人毛骨悚然！
Now let's talk about why John Green isn't here teaching this course.
现在我们谈谈为什么约翰·格林不在这里教授这门课程。
John is an entrepreneur, he writes books, runs DFTBA, Vlogbrothers, and MentalFloss and creates movies,
约翰是一位企业家，他写书、运营“DFTBA”、“Vlogbrothers”和心理牙线诙谐杂志（MentalFloss）并创作电影，
but he can't do everything he wants to do.
但他不能做自己想做的一切。
He looked at the benefits and costs of his choices, and in the end decided to spend more time writing books,
他看着选择的收益和成本，最终决定花更多的时间写书，
so Mr. Clifford and I are jumping in to teach you economics.
所以克利福德先生和我就来一起教你经济学了。
And believe it or not, we just covered the two most important assumptions in all of economics.
信不信由你，我们只讲经济学中两种最重要的假设。
First, the idea of scarcity.
第一个，稀缺性的概念。
People have unlimited wants but limited resources.
人有无穷的欲望，但资源有限。
and second, everything and I mean everything has a cost.
第二个，所有事物，我的意思是一切都有成本。
And if these assumptions are true,
如果这些假设是真的，
then we need a way to analyze our choices and get the most from our limited resources.
那么，我们需要一种方法来分析选择，并从有限的资源得到最大效益。
And that's economics.
这就是经济学。
Wait, but let's go back to the idea of benefits and costs.
等等，但让我们重温一下收益和成本的概念。
About 30,000 people a year die in car accidents in the US.
美国每年有3万人死于车祸。
Is there a way to ensure there will never be another traffic fatality?
有没有办法保证永远不会有另一个交通事故？
Yes! We can crush all the cars, close all the roads, and force everyone to walk.
有！我们可以粉碎所有的车，关闭所有的道路，强迫人们走路。
That would solve the car crash problem.
这将解决车祸问题。
Do you want to decrease the number of people convicted of murder?
你想减少被判谋杀罪的人数吗?
You could decriminalize murder.
您可以让谋杀合法化。
You want to end the unethical treatment of elephants?
你要结束对待大象的不道德方式吗？
You could kill off all the elephants, in an ethical way of course.
你可以消灭所有的大象，当然，要用一种道德的方式。
But before you decide to tenderly euthanize herds of beautiful elephants, think about it for a second.
但在你决定让美丽的大象群安乐死之前，想想第二个假设。
Each of these solutions is absurd because the cost clearly outweighs the benefit.
这些解决方案是荒谬的，因为成本明显大于效益。
Traffic fatalities are tragic, but we don't prevent them at all costs.
交通死亡事故是悲剧，但我们不能不惜一切代价地阻止它们。
You know that driving has risks, that you might get in a car accident, but you still drive.
你知道驾驶有风险，可能会遭遇一场车祸，但你仍开车。
Why? Well first, who's gonna walk to the gym?
为什么呢？首先，谁要步行到健身房？
And walking home with groceries in the rain is way worse than the teeny-tiny chance of dying in a car crash.
在雨中带着杂货回家比极小几率地死于车祸还要糟糕。
The point is, individuals, businesses and countries can't have everything,
问题的关键是，个人、企业和国家不能拥有一切，
so they're forced to weigh the benefits and costs of their decisions and make choices.
所以他们要被迫权衡利益和决策成本，并做出选择。
Let's look at another example.
我们看另一个例子。
Military spending in the United States is over 600 billion dollars per year,
美国每年的军费开支超过6000亿美元，
that's close to what the next top ten countries spend combined.
接近于其下排名前十国家的军费总和。
There are a total of about 20 active aircraft carriers in the world, and the US has half of them, and it's building more.
世界上共有约20艘现役航空母舰，美国占一半，而且它还要建造更多。
The opportunity cost of those aircraft carriers could be hospitals, schools, and roads.
这些航母的机会成本可能是医院、学校和公路。
So, is the US spending too much on the military?
那么，美国在军事上花的钱太多了吗?
Should the US focus on making guns or butter?
美国应该专注制造枪支还是黄油?
That is, weapons or consumer goods?
换言之就是武器还是消费品？
And notice the key word here is "or,"
注意，这里的关键词是“或”，
we can't produce an infinite amount of weapons AND consumer goods
我们不能无限量生产武器和消费品，
because we don't have an infinite amount of workers and farms and factories and raw materials.
因为我们没有无限量的工人、农场、工厂和原材料。
Scarcity means we must make a choice.
稀缺性意味着我们必须做出选择。
The American president Dwight D. Eisenhower explained this best in 1953 in a speech about Cold War military buildup.
1953年，美国总统德怀特·艾森豪威尔在关于冷战时期军事建设的演讲中对它做了最好的阐释。
"Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies,
“每一支制造的枪，每一艘发射的战舰，每一枚发射的火箭
in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed.
从最终意义上来说都是盗贼，偷窃了那些食不果腹、衣不蔽体的人们。
This world in arms is not spending money alone.
这个世界的武器不单单是花钱，
It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children."
它还花费劳动者的汗水、科学家的天赋和孩子们的希望。”
And this is a good time to mention the role of politics in economics;
现在是提政治在经济中发挥作用的好时机；
we're not pushing some liberal anti-military policy here.
我们并不是在推动一些自由主义者的反军事政策。
We're just pointing out that military spending has an opportunity cost:
我们只是指出军费有机会成本：
The resources not being used for social services like feeding the hungry.
这些资源没有用于社会服务如喂养饥民。
We're gonna try not to push a political agenda on you.
我们尽量不把政治议程强加于你。
We're gonna show you both sides and let you decide which one's best.
我们把利弊都展示给你，让你决定哪一个最好。
So please don't say "Mr. Clifford loves capitalism, so he's just a pro-business conservative,"
所以，请不要说“克利福德先生喜欢资本主义，所以他只是一个亲商的保守派”，
or "Adriene's talking about environmental regulations, so she's an anti-business liberal."
或者“埃德因在谈论环境法规，所以她是一个反商业的自由主义者”。
Yeah, we are pro-business and you are too.
是啊，我们亲商，那么你也是。
I mean, where do you think your computer came from?
我的意思是，你认为你的计算机从何而来？
That computer was brought to you by capitalism and the private sector.
它是由资本主义和私营部门带来的。
But that being said, the security and laws, roads,
话虽这么说，但安全、法律，道路，
and that traffic ticket you got the other day came from the government.
你某天得到的罚单都来自于政府。
Conservatives and liberals fight over the details,
保守主义者和自由主义者为细节争论不休，
but the free market alone can't solve all of our problems.
但自由市场不能独自解决我们所有的问题。
And the government can't solve all of them either.
而政府也不能解决所有问题。
Government officials use economic theory to guide public policy;
政府官员用经济理论指导国家政策，
their effects are widespread and affect millions of people.
其效果是普遍的，影响数百万人。
Sometimes a theory is flawed, but many times a policy is flawed.
有时候，理论是有缺陷的，但很多时候政策也有缺陷。
Economists adjust theories supported by data and understanding of incentives.
经济学家通过数据和对激励机制的理解来调整理论。
Having the right incentive is key.
有正确的激励是关键。
But the right incentives can be hard to figure out.
但是正确的激励很难弄清楚。
Take for example public colleges and universities.
以公立学院和大学为例。
Many of them used to get state money for each student they enrolled.
许多学生入学时曾得到过该州的奖金，
That meant universities had financial incentives to focus on recruiting as many students as possible,
这意味着高校有资金奖励来专注招收更多的学生，
but not actually helping them succeed once they were in class.
但他们一旦上学，这些奖励对成功不会有实际帮助。
So states have started changing the incentives.
因此，州政府已开始改变激励机制。
Now, more and more states reward schools for the number of students that complete courses or earn degrees.
现在，越来越多的州根据学生们完成课程的数量或获得的学位来奖励学校。
And in some places this has worked;
在一些地方这种激励起作用了；
it's helped schools increase their graduation rates
它帮助学校提高自己的毕业率，
by shifting money from marketing budgets to programs to help students do better,
方法是把钱从营销预算项目转移到帮助学生更好表现上，
but those incentives can also backfire if they're poorly designed.
但是这些激励机制如果设计不良，也可能会适得其反。
A university that gets money for graduates could push students through the program without giving them a good education.
大学可以把毕业生推到一个不给他们提供良好教育的项目中，以此获利。
It might want to only admit students who come in with super high test scores,
它可能只招收那些考试成绩超高的学生，
instead of considering other factors that might make them good candidates.
而不考虑他们成为优秀候选人的其他因素。
It might push students into less-rigorous majors.
它可能会把学生推向不那么严格的专业。
But incentives can help solve problems without adding more resources.
但激励机制可以通过不增加更多资源来解决这些问题。
You just have to get the incentives right.
你只需要得到正确的激励机制。
Many non-economists assume that the way to improve things like healthcare is to spend more money.
许多非经济学家假设改善事物如医疗保健会花更多的钱。
Economists would point out that the US already spends almost twice as much per person as other rich countries,
经济学家指出，美国的人均支出几乎是其他富裕国家的两倍。
and in many cases they get worse health outcomes.
在许多情况下，他们的健康结果更差。
Economists would also say that rather than spending more money,
经济学家也说，我们不是花更多的钱，
we need to make sure that insurers, doctors, hospitals, and patients have incentives
而是需要确保保险公司、医生、医院和患者都有奖励，
to produce the most effective care possible at the lowest cost possible.
以最低的成本获得最有效的护理。
The point is, if you mess up the incentives, the policy's not gonna work.
问题的关键是，如果你搞砸了激励措施，政策不会起作用。
When Vietnam was under French colonial rule,
当越南被法国殖民统治时，
the regime issued a bounty on rats to exterminate them,
政府悬赏消灭老鼠，
giving money to people for handing in rat tails.
把钱分给那些上交老鼠尾巴的人。
I guess because piles off rat bodies were too gross. The plan backfired.
我猜因为一堆老鼠尸体太恶心了，该计划事与愿违。
To make as much money as possible,
为了尽可能多得赚钱，
the rat-catchers cut the tails off the rats and released them, allowing them to make baby rats.
老鼠捕手切断老鼠尾巴，并将其释放，使它们生产幼鼠。
The policy actually increased the rat population. It made things worse.
政策其实增加了老鼠数量。事情变得更糟了。
We'll talk more about this idea of perverse incentives in another video, when we talk about the 2008 financial crisis.
说到2008年的金融危机，我们谈谈另一个视频中激励机制中的想法，
For now, let's go to the Thought Bubble.
现在，让我们去“Thought Bubble”。
Speaking of 2008, people sometimes criticize economists asking "Why didn't they predict the 2008 financial crisis?"
说到2008年，人们有时批评经济学家，问道：“他们为什么没有预测到2008年的金融危机？”
or, "why can't they agree on what the government should do or shouldn't do when there's a recession?"
或者“政府在经济衰退应该做什么时，他们为什么不能达成一致意见？”
These criticisms fail to distinguish between macroeconomics and microeconomics.
这些批评不能区分宏观经济学和微观经济学。
Specifically, all these complaints are about macroeconomics.
特别是，所有这些抱怨都是关于宏观经济学的。
Macro studies the economy as a whole;
宏观经济学研究的是经济整体;
it looks at the whole nation's output, unemployment, interest rates, government spending, and growth.
它着眼于全国的产量、失业率、利率、政府开支和增长。
Macro answers questions like "Will unemployment rise if there's an increase in taxes?"
宏观经济学回答诸如“如果税收增加，失业率会上升吗?”
"Will increase in the money supply boost output or just increase inflation?"
“增加货币供应会增加产出还是仅仅增加通货膨胀?”
"Will a slump in European economies cause the US economy to slow down?"
“欧洲经济衰退是否会导致美国经济放缓?”等问题。
Macroeconomists get more airtime because they predict the direction of the overall economy,
宏观经济学家是空中飞人，因为他们能预测整体经济的方向，
and work with the media and businesses and congress and the Federal Reserve,
并与媒体、企业、国会和美联储合作。
but less than half of all economists are macro economists;
但只有不到一半的经济学家是宏观经济学家。
there's a whole other side of economics that look at different questions.
经济学的另一个方面是看不同的问题。
"How many workers should we hire to maximize profit?"
“我们应该雇佣多少工人来实现利润最大化?”
"If our main competitor releases their product in May, when is the best time to release our product?"
“如果我们的主要竞争对手在五月份发布产品，那么我们发布产品的最佳时间是什么时候？”
and "which is better for fighting climate change, a gas tax, or increase in fuel efficiency?"
“应对气候变化、燃油税或提高燃油效率有什么好处?”
These are all microeconomic questions.
这些都是微观经济学的问题。
They're not about predicting GDP, or measuring unemployment,
它们不预测国内生产总值，或衡量失业，
but they are crucial questions that economists must answer.
却是经济学家必须回答的关键问题。
Also, if you don't know what GDP is or what a high or low unemployment rate is,
如果你不知道什么是国内生产总值或高低失业率，
don't worry, we'll get there.
没关系，我们也能成功。
So macro and micro-economists are two different groups asking different questions under one academic umbrella.
因此，宏观和微观经济学是一个学科下的两个不同分支，讨论的问题截然不同。
If economics was biology, macroeconomics would be ecology while microeconomics would be cell biology.
如果经济学是生物学，那么宏观经济将是生态学，而微观经济学是细胞生物学。
If economics was physics, macro would be cosmology and relativity while microeconomics would be Newtonian mechanics.
如果经济学是物理，宏观经济学是宇宙论和相对论，而微观经济学是牛顿力学。
Thanks Thought Bubble! Stan, I've always wanted to say that.
谢谢“Thought Bubble”！斯坦，我一直想说它。
Now I can cross it off my bucket list.
现在，我可以把它从遗愿清单上划掉了。
Now I have "ring the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange," "armwrestle Ben Bernanke,"
现在我可以敲响“纽约证券交易所的开市钟”，“与本·伯南克掰手腕”，
and "swim in a giant pool of money like Uncle Scrooge."
“在史高治舅舅那样的大钱池里游泳。”
Obviously we're glossing over the details,
显然，我们正在粉饰细节，
but we promise to cover everything in the next 40 weeks from supply and demand to monetary policy, we'll cover it all.
但我们承诺在未来40周中面面俱到，从供给需求到货币政策，我们将讨论这一切。
Except for maybe the giant pools of money.
除了不能给你巨大的资金池，
We can't promise you that learning economics will make you wealthy,
我们不能保证学习经济学会让你变富有，
but we can promise that learning economics will enlighten your mind
但是我们可以保证，学习经济学将启发你的头脑，
and make you a more informed decision maker.
让你成为更明智的决策者。
And that makes us all better off.
让我们变得更好。
Thanks so much for joining us. We'll see you next week.
非常感谢您的收看，我们下周见。
Thanks for watching Crash Course Economics.
感谢您收看速成班经济学。
It was made with the help of all of these nice people.
它是在这些好心人的帮助下完成制作的。
They work on the show because there's financial and implicit benefits that cover their opportunity costs.
他们在节目中工作，因为经济和隐形收益掩盖了他们的机会成本。
Now, if you want to help them with those financial benefits, consider going over to Patreon.
现在，如果你想用经济收益帮助他们，可以考虑去Patreon。
It's a voluntary subscription platform that allows you to pay whatever you want monthly
这是一个自愿订阅的平台，让你想包月就包月，
to help make Crash Course free for everyone, forever.
以此帮助速成班对所有人永远免费。
Thanks for watching. DFTBA.
感谢您的收看。别忘了做个了不起的人。
