【雙語新聞】理查德?塞勒獲2017年諾貝爾經濟學獎

Richard Thaler wins Nobel Prize in Economics

理查德?塞勒獲2017年諾貝爾經濟學獎

Richard Thaler, the man behind 「nudge」 economics, has been awarded the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences for his work on incorporating insights from psychology into economic theory and policymaking.

「輕推」經濟學背後的人物理查德?塞勒(Richard Thaler)被授予2017年諾貝爾經濟學獎(Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences)，因為他將心理學的洞察力融入經濟理論和政策制定。

The award, which is officially known as the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in memory of Alfred Nobel, was awarded to Prof Thaler for his 「contribution to behavioural economics」, the prize committee said.

諾貝爾評獎委員會表示，把今年的獎項——正式名稱是「紀念阿爾弗雷德?諾貝爾瑞典銀行經濟學獎」(Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel)——授予塞勒教授是為了表彰他「對行為經濟學作出的貢獻」。

The US economist co-wrote the global bestseller Nudge, which explores issues such as how people can be given incentives to make more rational decisions.

這名美國經濟學家與人合著了全球暢銷書《輕推》(Nudge)，其中探討的課題包括如何給予人們激勵才能讓他們作出更為理性的決策。

He is currently professor of behavioural science and economics at the University of Chicago.

他目前是芝加哥大學(University of Chicago)行為科學與經濟學教授。

Prof Thaler is the 79th recipient of the Nobel in economics, which was announced by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm on Monday morning. He will receive a prize of SKr9m ($1.1m).

瑞典皇家科學院(Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences)周一在斯德哥爾摩宣布的這一決定，使塞勒教授成為第79位諾貝爾經濟學獎獲得者。他將獲得900萬瑞典克朗（合110萬美元）的獎金。

Economists have traditionally assumed that individuals behave rationally, making decisions on the basis of all the information readily available to them. But Prof Thaler』s work has incorporated insights from psychology to help explain why people behave in ways that are not fully rational — for example, struggling to save for retirement and placing a higher value on items or money they already have than on those they might buy or win.

傳統上，經濟學家們假設個人的行為是理性的，根據自己可以輕易獲得的所有信息做出決策。但塞勒教授的研究融入了來自心理學的洞見，以幫助解釋為什麼人們的行為方式不完全理性，例如難以為退休後的人生階段儲蓄，以及認為自己已經擁有的物品或金錢（而不是自己可能購買或贏得的東西）具有更高價值。

After the prize was announced, Prof Thaler, who is a keen golfer, said he would try to spend the money 「as irrationally as possible」.

在這一獎項宣布後，愛打高爾夫的塞勒教授表示，他將 「盡量非理性地」花掉這筆獎金。

The insights from his work were summarised in Nudge, which was co-authored with Cass Sunstein, a professor at Harvard. Prof Sunstein quipped on Twitter that the decision to award the prize to Prof Thaler was 「an unboundedly rational choice for the Nobel」.

他與哈佛大學(Harvard)教授凱斯?桑斯坦(Cass Sunstein)合著的《輕推》總結了來自他的研究工作的深刻見解。桑斯坦教授在Twitter上表示，把經濟學獎授予塞勒教授是「諾貝爾獎作出的無限理性的選擇」。

The prize committee said Prof Thaler』s work had inspired many other researchers and transformed the field of behavioural economics, which his work spawned, from being 「a fringe and controversial」 field to a 「mainstream area」.

評獎委員會表示，塞勒教授的工作啟發了其他許多研究人員，並且徹底轉變了他的研究所催生的行為經濟學領域，使其從「一個邊緣和有爭議的」領域變成一個「主流領域」。

Prof Thaler』s conclusions have been influential in shaping economic policies in recent years. He served as an adviser to President Barack Obama and to the team that advised the UK government on incorporating ideas from behavioural economics into policy design. Prof Thaler has also advised the Swedish government on improving the design of its pensions system.

塞勒教授得出的結論近年影響了經濟政策的形成。他曾擔任巴拉克?奧巴馬(Barack Obama)總統的顧問，也曾向英國政府的顧問團隊提供諮詢，將行為經濟學的理念納入政策設計。塞勒教授還曾就改進養老金制度的設計向瑞典政府提供建議。

One of Prof Thaler』s best-known pieces of work highlighted the phenomenon of 「mental accounting」, that is, people spend money differently if it is labelled for one specific purpose rather than another.

塞勒教授最知名的研究成果之一是指出了「心理會計」現象，也就是說，如果一筆錢被標記為某個特定目的，人們會以不同的方式花掉它。

The implication of this insight is that policymakers can nudge people towards spending money on specific items by providing them with money labelled for a specific purpose, even if there is no restriction in practice on how the money is spent. In the UK, for example, research has shown that pensioners spent more on heating their homes when they were given a sum of money described as a 「winter fuel payment」, even though they were free to spend it however they wished.

這種觀點意味著，政策制定者可以通過發放貼上特定目的標籤的補貼，來勸說人們把錢花在特定項目上，即使實際上對於人們如何花錢並無限制。例如，英國的研究表明，養老金領取者在獲得一筆被稱為「冬季燃料支出」的款項後，會更加捨得加大居所供暖支出，即便他們可以隨心所欲地自由支配這筆錢。

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