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The Nobel Committee has brought attention to worldwide inequalities by awarding its economic prize to three Americans: Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson, and James A.Robinson.
诺贝尔委员会将其经济学奖授予了三位美国人：达隆·阿西莫格鲁、西蒙·约翰逊和詹姆斯·A·罗宾逊，从而引起了人们对全球不平等现象的关注。
The Nobel committee of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said the three won the 2024 Nobel Economics Prize “for studies of how institutions are formed and affect prosperity.”
瑞典皇家科学院诺贝尔委员会表示，这三人获得了2024年诺贝尔经济学奖，“以表彰他们对制度如何形成以及如何影响繁荣的研究。”
Committee chair Jakob Svensson said, “Reducing the vast differences in income between countries is one of our time’s greatest challenges.”
委员会主席雅各布·斯文森说：“减少国家之间巨大的收入差异是我们这个时代最大的挑战之一。”
He added that their research has provided “a much deeper understanding of the root causes of why countries fail or succeed.”
他补充说，他们的研究提供了“对国家失败或成功的根本原因的更深入理解”。
The wealthiest 20 percent of the world’s countries are now around 30 times richer than the poorest 20 percent, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences noted.
瑞典皇家科学院指出，世界上最富有的20%的国家现在比最贫穷的20%的国家富裕约30倍。
The difference continues although poor countries have become relatively richer.
尽管贫穷国家已经变得相对富裕，但这种差距仍在继续。
In 2021, the World Inequality Report said that the poorest half of the world’s population owned just two percent of wealth while the richest 10 percent controlled 76 percent of wealth.
2021年，《世界不平等报告》称，世界上最贫穷的一半人口仅拥有2%的财富，而最富有的10%控制着76%的财富。
Acemoglu and Johnson work at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, while Robinson conducts his research at the University of Chicago.
阿西莫格鲁和约翰逊在麻省理工学院工作，而罗宾逊在芝加哥大学进行他的研究。
Their findings are included in the 2012 book Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty written by Acemoglu and Robinson.
他们的研究结果被收录在2012年出版的《国家为什么会失败：权力、繁荣和贫困的起源》一书中，该书由阿西莫格鲁和罗宾逊合著。
In their work, the winners studied the city of Nogales, which sits on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border.
在他们的工作中，获奖者研究了位于美国和墨西哥边境两侧的诺加利斯市。
Despite sharing the same geography, climate, many of the same ancestors and a common culture, life is different on either side of the border.
尽管拥有相同的地理、气候、许多相同的祖先和共同的文化，但边境两边的生活却截然不同。
In Nogales, Arizona, to the north, people are relatively wealthy and live long lives; most children complete high school.
在北边亚利桑那州的诺加利斯，人们相对富裕，寿命较长；大多数孩子都能完成高中学业。
To the south, in Mexico’s Nogales, Sonora, people are much poorer, and the city suffers from organized crime and corruption.
在南部，在墨西哥索诺拉州的诺加利斯，人们要贫穷得多，这个城市遭受有组织犯罪和腐败的困扰。
The difference, the economists said, is a U.S. system that protects property rights and gives citizens a say in their government.
经济学家们说，区别在于美国的制度保护产权，并让公民在政府中有发言权。
The book includes evidence from ancient Rome to modern-day Nogales.
这本书包含了从古罗马到现代诺加利斯的证据。
It says that “inclusive institutions” make countries richer.
它说，“包容性制度”能让国家更富有。
It also says democracy, the rule of law and the protection of property rights prevent a small ruling class from owning most resources and wealth.
它还说，民主、法治和产权保护可以防止一小部分统治阶级拥有大部分资源和财富。
Reached by the academy in Athens, Greece, the Turkish-born Acemoglu said he was surprised and shocked by the award.
在希腊雅典的学院联系到他时，在土耳其出生的阿西莫格鲁说，这个奖项让他惊讶和震惊。
He said the research honored by the prize underscores the value of democratic institutions.
他说，该奖项所表彰的研究强调了民主制度的价值。
“I think broadly speaking the work that we have done favors democracy,” he noted.
“我认为，从广义上讲，我们所做的工作有利于民主，”他指出。
Acemoglu and Robinson had to explain why some countries with less-than-democratic systems, like Singapore and China, have become much wealthier.
阿西莫格鲁和罗宾逊必须解释为什么一些民主程度较低的国家，如新加坡和中国，却变得更加富裕。
“There’s many examples in world history of societies like that that do well for 40, 50 years,” Robinson said by phone.
“世界历史上有很多这样的社会的例子，它们在40、50年内都发展得很好，”罗宾逊在电话中说。
“What you see is that’s never sustainable...The Soviet Union did well for 50 or 60 years.
“你所看到的是，这是不可持续的……苏联有五六十年都发展的很好。
Argentina was one of the richest countries in the world at the time of the First World War. What our theory predicts is that’s a transitory situation.”
阿根廷在第一次世界大战时是世界上最富有的国家之一。我们的理论预测，这种国家的繁荣只是暂时的。”
Robinson said many societies have successfully made the transition to what he, Acemoglu and Johnson call an “inclusive society.’’
罗宾逊说，许多社会已经成功地过渡到了他、阿西莫格鲁和约翰逊所说的“包容性社会”。
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awards the prize in memory of Alfred Nobel.
瑞典皇家科学院为了纪念阿尔弗雷德·诺贝尔而颁发这个奖项。
The prize was established after Nobel’s death. I’m Caty Weaver.
该奖项是在诺贝尔去世后设立的。我是卡蒂·韦弗。
