VOA慢速英语:Jean Tirole Wins Nobel Economics Prize

Economists have studied how markets work for a long time. Generally, they work well. But markets do not always perform as expected. Jean Tirole of France won the Nobel Prize in Economics for studying why markets are imperfect, or inefficient, and what governments can do to regulate them.
经济学家们很长时间来都在研究市场如何运作。通常情况下市场运作良好。但市场并不总能达到预期效果。法国的Jean Tirole因为研究市场为何不完善或效率低下以及政府该如何对其进行监管而获得了诺贝尔经济学奖。

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced the $1.1 million prize in Stockholm on Monday. It called Mr. Tirole "one of the most influential economists of our time." The organization said he had done important research in a number of areas. But, it said, "most of all he has clarified how to understand and regulate industries with only a few powerful firms." A small number of companies that control an industry is called an oligopoly.
瑞典皇家科学院于周一在斯德哥尔摩市公布了这项奖金达110万美元的奖项，并称Tirole先生是“我们这个时代最有影响力的经济学家之一。”该组织表示，他已经在许多领域都做出了重要研究。但它表示，“最重要的是他明确指出了应该如何理解拥有少数强大公司的行业，以及如何对其进行监管。”少数公司控制一个行业被称为寡头垄断。

For about 30 years, Mr. Tirole has researched periods when markets failed, that is, when they did not provide good results in price and competition. He looked at how a small number of large companies, or even a single company, can strongly influence industries. Banking and telecommunications were among the industries he studied.
Tirole先生对市场失效的各个时期进行了30年左右的研究。市场失效是指市场在价格和竞争上未能提供好成绩。他着眼于少数大公司甚至一家公司如何能强势影响各个行业。银行和电信位居是他所研究的行业范围。

The Nobel committee said that unregulated markets often produce socially undesirable results. They can result in higher prices or companies that use their market position to block others. The committee said it chose Mr. Tirole because he thought about how best to regulate markets.
诺贝尔委员会表示，不受监管的市场往往会产生不良的社会效果。它们可能会导致更高价格，或者各公司利用自己的市场地位去阻止其它公司。该委员会表示，该委员会选择Tirole先生，是因为他在思考如何更好地监管市场。

For example, Tore Ellingsen says Mr. Tirole showed the need to develop better rules for the banking industry. This gained urgency after the world financial crisis of 2008-2009. Mr. Ellingsen is Chairman of the committee that awards the economics prize.
例如， Tore Ellingsen称，Tirole先生表明了有必要为银行业制定更好的规则。在2008-2009年的全球金融危机之后这点变得更加紧迫。Ellingsen先生是负责颁发经济学奖的委员会的主席。

"Jean Tirole is really trying to understand what is it that drives the owners of banks. What are their objectives, and what are they driven to do if regulation is very lax? And he then comes to the conclusion that what they are driven to do is to take risks that are far too large from the point of view of the public interest. So there needs to be tougher regulatory regime, in particular for investment banks."
“Jean Tirole试图了解是什么驱动银行主，他们有什么目标，如果监管非常宽松会驱使他们怎么做。然后他得出了这样的结论，他们被驱使去冒险，而从公共利益角度来说这种风险非常之大。因此需要更严厉的监管，特别是对投资银行。”

Mr. Tirole works at the Toulouse School of Economics in Toulouse, France. He is 61 years old.
Tirole先生在法国图卢兹市的图卢兹经济学院工作，现年61岁。

The economics prize is called the Bank of Sweden Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel. Alfred Nobel did not establish the prize. It was first presented in 1969.
这一经济学奖被称为“纪念阿尔弗雷德•诺贝尔瑞典银行经济学奖”。阿尔弗雷德•诺贝尔并未设立该奖项。该奖项于1969年被首次颁发。

The Nobel economics prize will be presented at a ceremony in Stockholm, Sweden, on December 10th.
诺贝尔经济学奖将于12月10日在瑞典斯德哥尔摩市举行的仪式上颁发。