经济学人:公司理论:协议是怎样构成的(2)

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　　If teachers are paid according to test results, they will “teach to the test” and pay less regard to other tasks, such as inspiring pupils to think independently. 如果教师是根据考试结果而被付给工资，他们就会“为考试而教”，而且还会减少对激励学生独立思考等其他任务的关注。

　　If chief executives are paid to boost the firm's short-term share price, they will cut investment projects that may benefit shareholders³ in the long run. 如果高管是为了提振短期股价而被付给工资，他们就会减少可能让利益相关方长期得利的投资项目。

　　Mr Holmstrom and Paul Milgrom established that where important tasks are hard to monitor, and where a balance of activities is needed,  霍姆斯特罗姆和保罗·米格罗姆(Paul Milgrom)指出，在重要的任务难以监督以及行为的平衡是必需的情况下，

　　then a contract should shun⁴ strong incentives⁶ tied to any one task. 合约应当回避被绑在任何一项任务上的强烈动机。

　　The best approach is to pay a fixed⁷ salary and to leave the balance of tasks unspecified. 最好的策略是支付一笔固定工资并且让任务的平衡处于未定之中。

　　A related idea developed by Mr Hart and John Moore is of a job contract as a “reference point” rather than as a detailed⁸ map. 由哈特和约翰·摩尔(John Moore)提出的一种相关的观点是把工作合约作为“参考点”，而不是“明细图”。

　　Another insight is that deferred⁹ forms of pay, such as company pension schemes and promotions¹⁰ based on seniority,  另一种深刻见解是，公司养老金计划和基于资历的提升这类延迟支付方式

　　help cement long-term ties with employees and reward them for investing in skills specific to the relationship. 有助于强化与员工的长期关系，同时还要因为员工投资于为双方关系所特有的技能而奖励他们。

　　Coase noted¹¹ in 1937 that the degree to which the mechanism¹² of price is superseded¹³ by the firm varies with the circumstances. 科斯早在1937年就曾指出，价格机制被公司取代所能达到的程度，是随情况的变化而变化的。

　　Eighty years on, the boundary between the two might appear to be dissolving altogether. 80年来，两者间的边界似乎已经完全消失了。

　　The share of self-employed contractors¹⁴ in the labour force has risen. 在劳动力大军中，自我雇佣的签约人比例一直在上升。

　　The “gig economy” exemplified by Uber drivers is mushrooming. 以优步为代表的“零工经济”正在迅速成长。

　　Yet firms are unlikely to wither¹⁵ away. 然而，公司不可能消亡。

　　Prior to Uber, most taxi drivers were already self-employed. 优步之前，大多数出租车司机早已是自我雇佣的了。

　　Spot-like job contracts are becoming more common, but flexibility¹⁶ comes at a cost. 类似于现货的工作合约正在变得愈发常见，但是，灵活性来得是有代价的。

　　Workers have little incentive⁵ to invest in firm-specific skills, so productivity suffers. 由于工人很少有动力投资于公司的特定技能，生产力深受其苦。

　　And even if Mr Seabright's shirt was delivered by a set of market-based transactions, the supply chains for complex goods,  同时，即便希布莱特的衬衫是通过一系列基于市场的交易得到分发的，

　　such as an iPhone or an Airbus A380 superjumbo, rely on long-term contracts that are often “incomplete”. 像iPhone或者空客A380超级客机这样的复杂商品的供应链仍然依赖于经常是“不完整”的长期合约。

　　Coase was the first to spot an enduring truth. 科斯是发现一个持久真相的第一人。

　　Successful economies need both the benign¹⁷ dictatorship of the firm and the invisible hand of the market. 成功的经济体既需要公司的良性独裁，也需要看不见的市场之手。

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