2023年经济学人 非洲国家致富秘诀（2）

 

 

    Between 2009 and 2018 Africa attracted just 14% of the industry’s total spending on exploration, despite containing perhaps 30% of the planet’s mineral wealth.

    2009年至2018年间，非洲仅吸引了该行业勘探总支出的14%，尽管非洲的矿产财富可能占全球的30%。

    Botswana has minimised “Dutch disease”, whereby resource exports cause the local currency to rise, making other exports less competitive.

    博茨瓦纳已将“荷兰病”（即资源出口导致本币升值，降低其他出口产品竞争力的现象）降至最低。

    It has managed the value of the pula and set up a sovereign-wealth fund.

    它管理着普拉货币的价值，并建立了一个主权财富基金。

    Too many African countries have spent the proceeds of resource booms before they arrive.

    太多的非洲国家在资源繁荣到来之前就败光了它们的收益。

    In Botswana a stabilisation fund helps smooth boom-and-bust cycles.

    在博茨瓦纳，一个稳定基金可以帮助平稳繁荣与萧条的周期。

    Like many African countries, Botswana has struggled to diversify¹ its exports and foster manufacturing.

    像许多非洲国家一样，博茨瓦纳一直在努力实现出口多样化和促进制造业发展。

    Both unemployment (25%) and income inequality (among the worst in the world) are high.

    失业率(25%)和收入不平等(世界最严重)都很高。

    Diamonds still make up more than 80% of export revenues.

    钻石仍然占出口收入的80%以上。

    Yet whereas petrostates such as Nigeria and Angola have ploughed money into industrial white elephants, Botswana has invested in future sources of wealth, including education and infrastructure².

    然而，当尼日利亚和安哥拉等石油国家将资金投入到无用的工业项目时，博茨瓦纳却投资于未来的财富来源，包括教育和基础设施建设。

    As new technology makes it possible to do more cutting and polishing in Botswana, rather than in India, the traditional hub, past investments in a skilled workforce³ will give it a chance to reap the rewards.

    排除传统的中心枢纽印度后，新技术使得更多钻石切割和抛光工作在博茨瓦纳也能进行，过去对熟练劳动力的投资将使其有机会获得回报。

    Better to have industrial strategies that build on existing strengths than try to conjure⁴ up new ones.

    在现有优势的基础上制定产业战略，比试图创造新的优势要好。

    Copying Botswana is not straightforward⁵.

    复制博茨瓦纳案例并非易事。

    Diamonds are not a typical commodity and it is not a typical African country.

    钻石不是一种典型的商品，博茨瓦纳也不是一个典型的非洲国家。

    Thanks to a trio of astute⁶ chiefs who petitioned Britain more than a century ago, the then Bechuanaland became a protectorate, not a colony.

    多亏了三个精明的酋长在一个多世纪前向英国请愿，使得当时的贝古纳兰成为了一个受保护国，而不是殖民地。

    It thus avoided some of the traumas⁷ of imperialism⁸.

    因此，它避免了一些帝国主义带来的创伤。

    (“I do object to being beaten by three canting natives,” harrumphed Cecil Rhodes at the time.)(当时塞西尔·罗兹愤愤不平地说：“我确实反对被三个伪善的当地人殴打。”)Its modern government was built on relatively⁹ pluralistic traditional institutions.

    它的现代政府是建立在相对多元化的传统制度之上的。

    Worryingly, under Ian Khama, the previous president, and Mokgweetsi Masisi, the current one, Botswana has shown signs of forgetting the secrets of its own success.

    令人担忧的是，在前任总统伊恩·卡马和现任总统莫科维特斯·马西西的领导下，博茨瓦纳已经开始逐渐忘记自己成功的秘诀了。

    Economic populism, protectionism and abuses of power are creeping in.

    经济民粹主义、保护主义和滥用权力正在悄然蔓延。

    Yet its history shows that getting the basics right goes a long way.

    然而，它的历史表明，让基本政策恢复正常有很长的路要走。

    Diamonds may not be for ever, but the benefits of sound policy can be.

    钻石可能不会永远存在，但合理政策的好处可以永存。

1 diversify   

v.（使）不同，（使）变得多样化

参考例句：

• Our company is trying to diversify.我们公司正力图往多样化方面发展。
• Hills and woods diversify the landscape.山陵和树木点缀景色。

2 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

3 workforce   

n.劳动大军，劳动力

参考例句：

• A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。
• A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。

4 conjure   

v.恳求，祈求；变魔术，变戏法

参考例句：

• I conjure you not to betray me.我恳求你不要背弃我。
• I can't simply conjure up the money out of thin air.我是不能像变魔术似的把钱变来。

5 straightforward   

adj.正直的，坦率的；易懂的，简单的

参考例句：

• A straightforward talk is better than a flowery speech.巧言不如直说。
• I must insist on your giving me a straightforward answer.我一定要你给我一个直截了当的回答。

6 astute   

adj.机敏的，精明的

参考例句：

• A good leader must be an astute judge of ability.一个优秀的领导人必须善于识别人的能力。
• The criminal was very astute and well matched the detective in intelligence.这个罪犯非常狡猾，足以对付侦探的机智。

7 traumas   

n.心灵创伤( trauma的名词复数 )；损伤；痛苦经历；挫折

参考例句：

• She felt exhausted after the traumas of recent weeks. 她经受了最近几个星期的痛苦之后感到精疲力竭。
• Conclusion: Safety lens of spectacles can protect the occurrence of ocular traumas. 结论：安全镜片可以预防眼镜碎片所致的眼外伤。 来自互联网

8 imperialism   

n.帝国主义，帝国主义政策

参考例句：

• They held the imperialism in contempt.他们鄙视帝国主义。
• Imperialism has not been able to subjugate China.帝国主义不能征服中国。

9 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。