2014年经济学人 法国经济学家 图卢兹VS巴黎

French economists²

Toulouse v Paris

A tale of two French economists and their rival schools

IF PHILOSOPHERS in France are national treasures, economists are dreary³ specimens⁴. But the discipline has some new star dust. One French economist¹, Jean Tirole, won the Nobel prize for economics. Another, Thomas Piketty, brought in rock-star quality when his book, “Capital”, became a bestseller in English. When the IMF recently listed the world's 25 best young economists, seven (including Mr Piketty) were French.

An economist from Toulouse

What explains this resurgence⁵? One answer is the rivalry⁶ of two institutions that have tried to defy the fragmented and divided world of French higher education: the Toulouse School of Economics (TSE) and the Paris School of Economics (PSE). Each has rebranded itself with an English name, created a private fund-raising foundation, recruited worldwide, and introduced English as the teaching language. Each has a claim to excellence⁷: PSE (where Mr Piketty is a professor) ranks seventh among economics departments worldwide, and TSE (chaired by Mr Tirole) is 11th, according to the RePEc ranking used by economists.

The two have chosen different paths. As part of a university, TSE is more recognisably a campus and teaches undergraduates (it cannot select them until the third year), while most of its postgraduates⁸ are foreign. The school's strengths are industrial economics, market regulation and economic theory. By contrast, PSE groups various grandes écoles, the selective elite⁹ top crust of French higher education, does not have a single campus (work on a new site is due to finish in 2016), and accepts only graduates. Besides economic theory, its research expertise¹⁰ is in public economics and statistics.

As a university, Toulouse has suffered in France from a sort of academic second-cousin syndrome¹¹. But the Nobel has put an end to that. A vast portrait of the modest Mr Tirole was strung across Toulouse's town hall. His students printed T-shirts to celebrate his triumph. Rivalry between the two schools is no bad thing. “As an economist, I like competition,” says Christian¹² Gollier, TSE's director. “There is room for more than one prestigious¹³ economics department in France.”

More than anything, TSE and PSE show how to get around rules. French higher education divides universities (non-selective) from grandes écoles(highly competitive); encourages uniformity (university lecturers are civil servants); and forbids university tuition fees. “The French system is crippled by rigidities,” notes Pierre-Yves Geoffard, PSE's director. “But these prompt new ideas, as a way of working around the system .”

1 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

2 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 dreary   

adj.令人沮丧的，沉闷的，单调乏味的

参考例句：

• They live such dreary lives.他们的生活如此乏味。
• She was tired of hearing the same dreary tale of drunkenness and violence.她听够了那些关于酗酒和暴力的乏味故事。

4 specimens   

n.样品( specimen的名词复数 )；范例；（化验的）抽样；某种类型的人

参考例句：

• Astronauts have brought back specimens of rock from the moon. 宇航员从月球带回了岩石标本。
• The traveler brought back some specimens of the rocks from the mountains. 那位旅行者从山上带回了一些岩石标本。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 resurgence   

n.再起，复活，再现

参考例句：

• A resurgence of his grief swept over Nim.悲痛又涌上了尼姆的心头。
• Police say drugs traffickers are behind the resurgence of violence.警方说毒贩是暴力活动重新抬头的罪魁祸首。

6 rivalry   

n.竞争，竞赛，对抗

参考例句：

• The quarrel originated in rivalry between the two families.这次争吵是两家不和引起的。
• He had a lot of rivalry with his brothers and sisters.他和兄弟姐妹间经常较劲。

7 excellence   

n.优秀，杰出，(pl.)优点，美德

参考例句：

• His art has reached a high degree of excellence.他的艺术已达到炉火纯青的地步。
• My performance is far below excellence.我的表演离优秀还差得远呢。

8 postgraduates   

研究生( postgraduate的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Professor Zhu will give lectures to the postgraduates [graduate students] this term. 朱教授这学期给研究生开课。
• These postgraduates were a very talented group. 这些研究生是一群天分很高的学生。

9 elite   

n.精英阶层；实力集团；adj.杰出的，卓越的

参考例句：

• The power elite inside the government is controlling foreign policy.政府内部的一群握有实权的精英控制着对外政策。
• We have a political elite in this country.我们国家有一群政治精英。

10 expertise   

n.专门知识(或技能等)，专长

参考例句：

• We were amazed at his expertise on the ski slopes.他斜坡滑雪的技能使我们赞叹不已。
• You really have the technical expertise in a new breakthrough.让你真正在专业技术上有一个全新的突破。

11 syndrome   

n.综合病症；并存特性

参考例句：

• The Institute says that an unidentified virus is to blame for the syndrome. 该研究所表示,引起这种综合症的是一种尚未确认的病毒。
• Results indicated that 11 fetuses had Down syndrome. 结果表明有11个胎儿患有唐氏综合征。

12 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

13 prestigious   

adj.有威望的，有声望的，受尊敬的

参考例句：

• The young man graduated from a prestigious university.这个年轻人毕业于一所名牌大学。
• You may even join a prestigious magazine as a contributing editor.甚至可能会加入一个知名杂志做编辑。