haven't stopped yet. Economics really has changed my life and the whole way I see

而至今我仍未停止 經濟學改變了我的人生以及我對世界的看法

the world. What's so powerful about the discipline is just how much it shapes how

它的原則是如此的強大，型塑了

you understand everything around you.

你認知世界以及所有你周遭事物的結構

- [Professor Alex Tabarrok] But perhaps you're asking, what's my incentive to learn

或許你會這麼提問 我學習經濟學的動機是什麼呢

economics? Well, that's a great question. You've already hit on a key economic

真是個好問題 你已經觸及到了經濟學的關鍵了

insight, incentives. For example, why is the service at a local restaurant

「動機」 舉例來說，為什麼地方性的餐館業服務

typically so much better than from the cable company?

原則上優於電信業如此之多呢？

- Or why do laws which supposedly protect endangered species,

又為什麼那些當初為了保護瀕臨滅絕的物種所立的法案

sometimes end up with more of those animals being killed?

有時造成的結果反而導致更多的動物被殺害呢？

- Or why do big toy companies sometimes advocate for

或為什麼玩具業大廠有時會提倡那些

regulations which raise their costs? Incentives are the key.

會提高成本的規章呢？ 關鍵之處就在於「動機」

- Another example might help us explain. Way back in 1787, the British

另一個例子或許能夠幫助我們來解釋 回溯到1787年，大英帝國政府

government hired sea captains to ship convicted felons to Australia.

雇用船隊運載重刑犯到澳洲

The conditions on those ships were just awful. On one voyage, more than one-third of the

那些船隻的狀況真的是糟透了 在一次的航程當中超過三分之一的人

men died and the rest arrived beaten, starved and sick. The public was outraged,

喪命而剩下的那些則是在力竭、飢餓與病痛之鐘抵達 當時整個社會都相當的憤慨

newspapers called for better conditions, the clergy appealed to the captain's sense

報章雜誌紛紛要求改善這種情況， 神職人員向船長們呼籲

of humanity, and British Parliament passed regulations requiring better treatment of

人道觀念，英國議會通過善待罪犯的需求規範

these prisoners. Unfortunately, those attempted solutions simply didn't work.

不幸的是這些解決方案就是沒有實質成效

The death rate remained shockingly high.

死亡率依舊維持在瘋狂的水準

- So Tyler, as a good economist. How would you solve this problem?

那麼Tyler，你做為一個優秀的經濟學者 你會怎麼樣解決這個難題呢？

- Well, there was one economist at the time who came up with a

當時一位經濟學家想出了一個

novel solution. It was implemented and it basically worked. Instead of paying the

奇特的辦法，在實施之後相當的成功 取代以

captains for each prisoner who embarked to Australia, the government would pay the

每個出發前往澳洲的罪犯為單位支付給船隊的方式 政府改以

captains only for the prisoners who arrived alive. Overnight, the incentives

生還抵達澳洲的罪犯為單位作為支付單位 一夕之間船隊的動機

of the sea captains changed. The survival rate of the prisoners shot up to 99%.

因此而改變了 罪犯的存活率

As one observer put it, economy beat sentiment and benevolence.

飆升到99%在外界看來

- So what's your incentive to learn economics? People hear that I'm

經濟學戰勝了善感與仁慈

an economist and they ask me about managing their money. And economics does

那麼什麼是你學習經濟的動機呢？ 人們知道我是經濟學家

have some lessons for investing in the stock market, but economics is much

他們常問我關於理財方面的問題

broader than that. It's the study of human action, how people make choices and how

經濟學和投資股票市場是有相當關連性的 但經濟學其實

they should make choices under scarcity. Economics will help you with your choices,

遠比這個多得更多了 它其實是一門人類行為的學問：人們如何做出選擇

whether picking a career, parenting a child, or deciding how much education is a

如何在經濟蕭條的時期該如何做出選擇 經濟學會幫助你做出選擇

truly worthwhile investment. Overall, economics will give you a deeper

不管是職涯選擇、養育子女 或是決定投入多少程度的進修

understanding of the key issues of our time.

是筆值得的投資 整體來說，經濟學會讓你對

- Economics can be hard. Retraining your brain to look at the world

時間這項關鍵擁有更深的一層認識

in a different way isn't always easy.

經濟學可以是很困難的 重新鍛鍊你大腦以不同的角度看待世界

- But the reward is a new set of eyes to see the world.

的方式 這並不都是容易的

So are you ready to begin?

不過獎賞就是一雙嶄新的雙眼來看世界