演講MP3+雙語文稿:創(chuàng)新投資繁榮社會，才是根治腐敗的良方

聽力課堂TED音頻欄目主要包括TED演講的音頻MP3及中英雙語文稿，供各位英語愛好者學(xué)習(xí)使用。本文主要內(nèi)容為演講MP3+雙語文稿:創(chuàng)新投資繁榮社會，才是根治腐敗的良方，希望你會喜歡！

【演講者及介紹】EfosaOjomo

創(chuàng)新研究員Efosa Ojomo研究并撰寫了關(guān)于創(chuàng)新如何改變組織并為許多人創(chuàng)造包容性繁榮的文章。

【演講主題】減少腐敗需要一種特殊的投資

【中英文字幕】

翻譯者psjmz mz 校對者Wei Zhang

00:00

So in 2011, someone broke into my sister's office at the university where she teaches in Nigeria. Now thankfully, the person was caught, arrested and charged to court. When I get into court, the clerks who were assigned to my sister's case informed her that they wouldn't be able to process the paperwork unless she paid a bribe. Now, at first she thought it was part of a practical joke. But then she realized they were serious. And then she became furious. I mean, think about it: here she was, the recent victim of a crime, with the very people who were supposed to help her, and they were demanding a bribe from her. That's just one of the many ways that corruption impacts millions of people in my country.

在 2011 年，有人闖進(jìn)了我妹妹 在尼日利亞一所大學(xué)任教的辦公室。幸運(yùn)的是，我們抓獲，逮捕 并且向法庭起訴了此人。當(dāng)我進(jìn)入法庭時(shí)，被分派處理我妹妹案件的辦事員 告訴我妹妹說，如果我妹妹能給點(diǎn)好處，他們才會 處理她的文書工作。我妹妹最初認(rèn)為這是種政治玩笑，但后來才意識到他們沒有開玩笑。于是我妹妹變得十分憤怒。試想一下，她是作為 此次犯罪的受害者，理應(yīng)負(fù)責(zé)幫助我妹妹的每一個(gè)人 卻向我妹妹索要好處。這只是腐敗影響我國 數(shù)百萬人中，眾多方式的一種。

00:48

You know, growing up in Nigeria, corruption permeated virtually every element of the society. Reports of politicians embezzling millions of dollars were common. Police officers stealing money or extorting money from everyday hardworking citizens was routine practice. I felt that development could never actually happen, so long as corruption persisted. But over the past several years, in my research on innovation and prosperity, I've learned that corruption is actually not the problem hindering our development. In fact, conventional thinking on corruption and its relationship to development is not only wrong, but it's holding many poor countries backwards.

在我成長的尼日利亞，腐敗幾乎滲透到社會的各個(gè)層面。政客們貪污數(shù)百萬美元 的報(bào)道屢見不鮮。警察盜竊金錢 或向每天辛勤工作 的公民勒索錢財(cái) 早已司空見慣。這我覺得，只要持續(xù)存在腐敗問題，社會就永遠(yuǎn)得不到發(fā)展。但在過去幾年中，在我所進(jìn)行的關(guān)于 創(chuàng)新與繁榮的研究中，我了解到，腐敗其實(shí) 并不是阻礙我們發(fā)展的問題所在。事實(shí)上，對腐敗和發(fā)展的關(guān)系的傳統(tǒng)想法 不僅是錯(cuò)誤的，而且它拖了很多貧窮國家的后腿。

01:36

So, the thinking goes like this: in a society that's poor and corrupt, our best shot at reducing corruption is to create good laws, enforce them well, and this will make way for development and innovation to flourish. Now, it makes sense on paper, which is why many governments and development organizations invest billions of dollars annually on institutional reform and anti-corruption programs. But many of these programs fail to reduce corruption, because we have the equation backwards. You see, societies don't develop because they've reduced corruption. They're able to reduce corruption because they've developed. And societies develop through investments in innovation.

這種想法大概是這樣的： 在貧窮且腐敗的社會中，我們減少腐敗的最好方法 是構(gòu)建良好的法律，并有效執(zhí)行，這將輔助發(fā)展與創(chuàng)新走向繁榮。在紙上倒是行的通，這也是為什么很多政府和發(fā)展組織 在機(jī)構(gòu)改革和反腐敗項(xiàng)目上面，每年投資數(shù)十億美元。但很多這些項(xiàng)目沒能減少腐敗，因?yàn)槲覀儽灸┑怪昧?。要知道，不是因?yàn)楦瘮p少了 而社會得以發(fā)展，而是社會發(fā)展了才能減少腐敗。社會發(fā)展是通過 對創(chuàng)新的投資來實(shí)現(xiàn)。

02:25

Now, at first, I thought this was impossible. Why would anyone in their right mind invest in a society where, at least on the surface, it seems a terrible place to do business? You know, a society where politicians are corrupt and consumers are poor? But then, the more I learned about the relationship between innovation and corruption, the more I started to see things differently.

起初，我認(rèn)為這不可能。怎么會有一個(gè)正常人 投資一個(gè)至少表面看起來 非常不適合做生意的地方？ 怎么會有人投資一個(gè)腐敗的、 消費(fèi)貧瘠的社會？ 但在更多的了解了 創(chuàng)新與腐敗的關(guān)系后，我開始以不同眼光看待事情。撒哈拉以南非洲地區(qū) 在發(fā)展電信產(chǎn)業(yè)時(shí) 就面臨這樣的情況。

02:49

Here's how this played out in sub-Saharan Africa as the region developed its telecommunications industry. In the late 1990s, fewer than five percent of people in sub-Saharan Africa had phones. In Nigeria, for example, the country had more than 110 million people but fewer than half a million phones in the whole nation. Now, this scarcity fueled widespread corruption in the industry. I mean, public officials who worked for the state-owned phone companies demanded bribes from people who wanted phones. And because most people couldn't afford to pay the bribes, phones were only available to those who were wealthy.

撒哈拉以南非洲地區(qū) 在發(fā)展電信產(chǎn)業(yè)時(shí) 就面臨這樣的情況。在 1990 年代末，不到 5% 的撒哈拉以南非洲 地區(qū)的人們擁有手機(jī)。比如尼日利亞有超過 1.1 億人口，但整個(gè)國家只擁有不到 50 萬部手機(jī)。手機(jī)的稀缺加劇了行業(yè)的腐敗。在該州電話公司工作的公務(wù)人員 要求想擁有電話的人提供好處。由于很多人付不起賄賂金額，所以只有富人用得起電話。

03:27

Then an entrepreneur named Mo Ibrahim decided that he would set up a telecommunications company on the continent. Now, when he told his colleagues about his idea, they just laughed at him. But Mo Ibrahim was undeterred. And so in 1998, he set up Celtel. The company provided affordable mobile phones and cell service to millions of Africans, in some of the poorest and most corrupt countries in the region -- I mean countries such as Congo, Malawi, Sierra Leone and Uganda. You see, in our research, we call what Mo Ibrahim built a "market-creating innovation." Market-creating innovations transform complicated and expensive products into products that are simple and affordable, so that many more people in society could access them. Now in this case, phones were expensive before Celtel made them much more affordable.

然后有一名叫莫·伊布拉欣的企業(yè)家，他決定要在這個(gè)國家成立 一家電信公司。當(dāng)他告訴同事們他的想法時(shí)，他們只是取笑他。但莫·伊布拉欣并未放棄。于是在 1998 年，他創(chuàng)立了Celtel。該公司為數(shù)百萬非洲人 提供了可負(fù)擔(dān)的移動電話 和電話服務(wù)。甚至包括該地區(qū)一些 非常貧窮和腐敗的國家—— 比如剛果、馬拉維、 塞拉利昂和烏干達(dá)。在我們的研究中，我們將莫·伊布拉欣構(gòu)建服務(wù) 的稱為“市場創(chuàng)建創(chuàng)新”?！笆袌鰟?chuàng)建創(chuàng)新”把 復(fù)雜昂貴的產(chǎn)品轉(zhuǎn)型成為 簡單可負(fù)擔(dān)的產(chǎn)品。讓社會中的每一個(gè)人都可以使用。在此案例中，Celtle 使電話 相較之前的價(jià)格更加負(fù)擔(dān)得起。

04:24

As other investors -- some of his colleagues, actually -- saw that it was possible to create a successful mobile phone company on the continent, they flooded in with billions of dollars of investments. And this led to significant growth in the industry. From barely nothing in 2000, today, virtually every African country now has a vibrant mobile telecommunications industry. The sector now supports close to one billion phone connections, it has created nearly four million jobs and generates billions of dollars in taxes every year. These are taxes that governments can now reinvest into the economy to build their institutions. And here's the thing: because most people no longer have to bribe public officials just to get a phone, corruption -- at least within this industry -- has reduced. Now, if Mo Ibrahim had waited for corruption to be fixed in all of sub-Saharan Africa before he invested, he would still be waiting today.

其它投資者而言，確切來說，一些他的同事，認(rèn)為在非洲成功的 建設(shè)一家電信公司 是有可能的，他們投資了數(shù)十億美元。這一行為給該行業(yè)帶來了明顯增長。從 2000 年的幾乎一無所有，到如今幾乎每個(gè)非洲國家 現(xiàn)在都擁有一個(gè) 充滿活力的移動通信市場。這個(gè)行業(yè)目前支持 將近 10 億個(gè)用戶終端，創(chuàng)造了將近 400 萬份工作，并且每年增加了數(shù)十億的稅收。政府現(xiàn)在能使用稅收 重新投入到經(jīng)濟(jì)中 建設(shè)他們的體系。重點(diǎn)是： 大部分的人不再為了得到一部電話 而賄賂公務(wù)人員，至少在該行業(yè)中，腐敗自然就減少了。如果莫·易卜拉欣 在沙哈拉以南非洲地區(qū) 的腐敗問題解決后投資，他現(xiàn)在仍舊在等待。

05:29

You know, most people who engage in corruption know they shouldn't. I mean, the public officials who were demanding bribes from people to get phones and the people who were paying the bribes -- they knew they were breaking the law. But they did it anyways. The question is: Why? The answer? Scarcity.

誠然，大多數(shù)人知道 自身不應(yīng)該參與腐敗。向想得到一部電話的人要求賄賂 的公務(wù)人員 以及支付賄賂金額的人 他們清楚自己違反了法律，但他們還是這樣做了。問題是為什么？ 答案？ 稀缺。

05:52

See, whenever people would benefit from gaining access to something that scarce, this makes corruption attractive. You know, in poor countries, we complain a lot about corrupt politicians who embezzle state funds. But in many of those countries, economic opportunity is scarce, and so corruption becomes an attractive way to gain wealth. We also complain about civil servants like police officers, who extort money from everyday hardworking citizens. But most civil servants are grossly underpaid and are leading desperate lives. And so for them, extortion or corruption is a good way to make a living.

無論何時(shí)，一個(gè)人將從稀缺中獲利 都會使得腐敗 具有誘惑力。在貧窮的國家，我們經(jīng)常抱怨腐敗的政客，他們私吞國家公款。但是在這些眾多的國家里，經(jīng)濟(jì)機(jī)會是稀缺的，所以腐敗成為了具有誘惑力 的獲得錢財(cái)?shù)姆绞?。我們也?jīng)常抱怨 像警察這樣的公務(wù)人員 從每天辛勤工作的 公民身上敲詐錢財(cái)。但是絕大多數(shù)公務(wù)人員 的工資越來越少，過著令人絕望的生活。所以對他們而言，敲詐或腐敗是他們謀生的好方法。

06:34

You know, this phenomenon also plays itself out in wealthy countries as well. When rich parents bribe university officials --

這個(gè)現(xiàn)象在富裕國家也普遍存在。當(dāng)富裕的父母賄賂 大學(xué)工作人員時(shí)——

06:42

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

06:47

When rich parents bribe university officials so their children can gain admission into elite colleges, the circumstance is different, but the principle is the same. I mean, admission into elite colleges is scarce, and so bribery becomes attractive.

當(dāng)富裕的父母賄賂大學(xué)工作人員，讓他們的孩子可以獲得 進(jìn)入精英大學(xué)就讀的機(jī)會，情況則不同。但原理一樣。我的意思是進(jìn)入精英大學(xué) 就讀的機(jī)會稀缺，所以賄賂變得具有誘惑力。

07:07

The thing is, I'm not trying to say there shouldn't be things that are scarce in society or things that are selective. What I'm just trying to explain is this relationship between corruption and scarcity. And in most poor countries, way too many basic things are scarce. I mean things like food, education, health care, economic opportunity, jobs. This creates the perfect breeding ground for corruption to thrive. Now, in no way does this excuse corrupt behavior. It just helps us understand it a bit better. Investing in businesses that make things affordable and accessible to so many more people attacks this scarcity and creates the revenues for governments to reinvest in their economies.

關(guān)鍵在于，我并不是說，在社會中 不應(yīng)該存在稀缺的或是 具有選擇性的事物，我只是想解釋 腐敗與稀缺之間的關(guān)系。在絕大多數(shù)貧窮的國家里，很多基本物品都是稀缺的。我指的是像食物、 教育、 醫(yī)療、 經(jīng)濟(jì)機(jī)會 和工作等。這是孕育腐敗的溫床，會任其肆意滋長。這絕不是腐敗行為的借口，只是能幫助我們更好的了解腐敗。投資那些讓更多人能夠負(fù)擔(dān)得起 并且可以獲取的業(yè)務(wù)，能夠?qū)瓜∪眴栴}，并給政府制定一個(gè) 經(jīng)濟(jì)再投資解決方案。

07:59

Now, when this happens on a countrywide level, it can revolutionize nations. Consider the impact in South Korea. Now, in the 1950s, South Korea was a desperately poor country, and it was very corrupt. The country was ruled by an authoritarian government and engaged in bribery and embezzlement. In fact, economists at the time said South Korea was trapped in poverty, and they referred to it as "an economic basket case." When you looked at South Korea's institutions, even as late as the 1980s, they were on par with some of the poorest and most corrupt African countries at the time. But as companies like Samsung, Kia, Hyundai invested in innovations that made things much more affordable for so many more people, South Korea ultimately became prosperous.

在全國水平上發(fā)生這些事情時(shí)，可以給這個(gè)國家?guī)砀母?。思考一下這對于韓國的影響。在 1950 年，韓國是個(gè)非常貧窮并且 腐敗的國家。這個(gè)國家由一個(gè)獨(dú)裁的政府控制，并且政府參與了貪污和挪用。事實(shí)上，那時(shí)的經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)家說 韓國陷入了貧困，他們把它稱為“經(jīng)濟(jì)上的爛攤子”?？纯错n國的體系，甚至到了 1980 年末，還與那時(shí)候的一些最貧窮 和最腐敗的非洲國家 處于同等水平。然而像三星、起亞和現(xiàn)代這些公司 的投資創(chuàng)新使大多數(shù)的人 能夠負(fù)擔(dān)的起 這些物品。韓國社會最終繁榮了起來。

08:57

As the country grew prosperous, it was able to transition from an authoritarian government to a democratic government and has been able to reinvest in building its institutions. And this has paid off tremendously. For instance, in 2018, South Korea's president was sentenced to 25 years in prison on corruption-related charges. This could never have happened decades ago when the country was poor and ruled by an authoritarian government. In fact, as we looked at most prosperous countries today, what we found was, they were able to reduce corruption as they became prosperous -- not before.

隨著國家日漸繁榮，它能夠?qū)崿F(xiàn)從獨(dú)裁政府 向民主政府的轉(zhuǎn)變。并且能夠再投資去建設(shè)其體系。這一變化已經(jīng)取得了驚人的成功。例如，在 2018 年，韓國總統(tǒng)因?yàn)楦瘮∠嚓P(guān)指控 被判處 25 年監(jiān)禁。在幾十年前，作為由獨(dú)裁政府 所控制的貧困國家，這是絕不會發(fā)生的。實(shí)際上，對于現(xiàn)在大多數(shù) 的繁榮國家而言，我們發(fā)現(xiàn)，在發(fā)展繁榮的過程中，這些國家也能夠 減少腐敗。

09:41

And so where does that leave us? I know it may sound like I'm saying we should just ignore corruption. That's not what I'm saying at all. What I'm suggesting, though, is that corruption, especially for most people in poor countries, is a work-around. It's a utility in a place where there are fewer better options to solve a problem. Investing in innovations that make products much more affordable for many people not only attacks this scarcity but it creates a sustainable source of revenue for governments to reinvest into the economies to strengthen their institutions. This is the critical missing piece in the economic development puzzle that will ultimately help us reduce corruption.

那么我們該如何處理呢？ 我知道，這聽起來像是在說，我們應(yīng)該忽視腐敗。我可沒這個(gè)意思。相反，我想表達(dá)的是，腐敗，尤其是對貧窮國家 的大多數(shù)人來說，是一種權(quán)宜之計(jì)，一種在沒有 更優(yōu)解決方案情況下的實(shí)用工具。在產(chǎn)品上投資創(chuàng)新，讓更多的人 負(fù)擔(dān)得起，不僅能夠?qū)瓜∪眴栴}，還能為政府創(chuàng)造持續(xù)的稅收來源，用于重新投入經(jīng)濟(jì)運(yùn)營，從而加強(qiáng)體系建設(shè)。在經(jīng)濟(jì)發(fā)展拼圖中至關(guān)重要 并遺失的這一塊拼圖，將最終幫助我們減少腐敗。

10:31

You know, I lost hope in Nigeria when I was 16. And in some ways, the country has actually gotten worse. In addition to widespread poverty and endemic corruption, Nigeria now actually deals with terrorist organizations like Boko Haram. But somehow, I am more hopeful about Nigeria today than I have ever been before. When I see organizations investing in innovations that are creating jobs for people and making things affordable -- I mean organizations like Lifestores Pharmacy, making drugs and pharmaceuticals more affordable for people; or Metro Africa Xpress, tackling the scarcity of distribution and logistics for many small businesses; or Andela, creating economic opportunity for software developers -- I am optimistic about the future. I hope you will be, too.

對尼日利亞失去希望時(shí)，我 16 歲。在某種程度上，這個(gè)國家正變得越來越糟。除了普遍的貧窮和地方腐敗，尼日利亞實(shí)際上正在 跟博科圣地這樣 的恐怖組織做交易。然而，我對尼日利亞從未 像現(xiàn)在這樣充滿希望。當(dāng)我看到組織機(jī)構(gòu)投資創(chuàng)新，為人們創(chuàng)造工作機(jī)會，并且努力降低商品價(jià)格時(shí)—— 我指的是像 Lifestores Pharmacy 這樣 生產(chǎn)廉價(jià)藥品的公司，或者 Metro Africa Xpress，解決了許多小企業(yè) 配送和物流不足的問題； 或者 Andela，他們?yōu)?軟件開發(fā)者創(chuàng)造了經(jīng)濟(jì)機(jī)會。我對未來非常樂觀。我希望你們也一樣。

11:26

Thank you.

謝謝。

11:27

(Applause)

（鼓掌）