国际货币基金组织总裁拉加德在博科尼大学的开幕致辞（中英对照）

英文版：Bocconi University Inaugural Speech.doc

中文版：博科尼大学开幕致辞.doc 

Building a Future for Italy’s Youth – Challenging the Present, Daring the Future

为意大利的年轻人创造美好未来——勇敢挑战今天，无畏面对明天

 

Bocconi University Inaugural Speech

博科尼大学开幕致辞

 

Christine Lagarde, Managing Director of International Monetary Fund

国际货币基金组织总裁克里斯蒂娜·拉加德

 

Tuesday, December 9, 2014

2014 年12 月9 日，星期二

 

Good morning everyone – Buongiorno!

 

大家上午好——Buongiorno（意大利问候语）！

 

President Mario Monti, Rector Andrea Sironi – thank you for the kind introduction.

 

感谢马里奥·蒙蒂主席和安德烈·西罗尼校长的热情介绍。

 

Distinguished professors, students and guests – thank you for welcoming me here today.

 

尊敬的各位教授、学生和来宾，谢谢大家对我的欢迎。

 

It is a great honor to deliver the inaugural address for this academic year at Bocconi – one of the most prestigious universities in Europe, and indeed, the world.

 

非常荣幸在博科尼大学致本学年开幕辞。博科尼大学是欧洲乃至全世界最有声望的大学之一。

 

What I admire about Bocconi goes well beyond its academic and intellectual excellence. Bocconi truly embraces a global view in its curricula, in its culture, and in its values. The spirit of tolerance and multilateralism runs in your DNA! And in this, I hope you agree, we are very much alike!

 

我钦佩博科尼大学，不仅是因为它在学术和思想上的杰出成就。博科尼大学的课程、文化和价值中真正体现了全球视角。宽容精神与多边主义根植于你们的DNA！我希望你们也认可这一点，那就是我们在这方面非常相似！

 

It is also such a pleasure to be back in Milano! I am always reminded of my first visit to Santa Maria delle Grazie and of the genius of da Vinci. It is true, he left his mark in many cities during his lifetime – but it was really in Milano where his genius and talents were nurtured and began to flourish.

 

再次来到米兰，这也让我备感欣喜！我总是回想起我第一次来到圣玛利亚修道院的情景，想起达·芬奇这位天才。的确，他一生中在许多城市都留下了印记，但是，是在米兰这座城市，他的天赋和才干得以滋养和繁盛

 

Da Vinci was the quintessential Renaissance Man – a multi-talented visionary well ahead of his time. He dared the future by challenging the present, and he was not shy to challenge others.

 

达·芬奇是典型的“文艺复兴人”——多才多艺、有远见卓识的人，远远超前于他所处的时代。他通过迎接今天的挑战勇敢地面对明天，也不惧向别人质疑。

 

I was struck by this one quote of his, which is now a favorite of mine: “Chi poco pensa molto erra.” “He who thinks little, errs much.”

 

他说过的一句话让我深受触动，这也是我现在最喜爱的格言之一：“Chi poco pensa

molto erra. ”“思考少的人会错得多。”

 

So, today, when thinking about my favorite subject, the economy, let us think a little bigger. Let us start from a blank canvas, as da Vinci, and imagine the future.

 

那么，今天，谈起我喜欢的话题——经济，就让我们把思路放宽一些。让我们首先拿起一块空白的画布，就像达·芬奇一样，然后想象未来。

 

Normally we would use bright colors to paint that future, using imagination, energy, and hope. But these days, darker colors seem more in order, and this is what I would like to talk to you about. The grey clouds of entrenched low growth and high unemployment, especially among the young. How can we get the color of hope back into this picture?

 

我们一般会用明艳的颜色描绘未来，用我们的想象力、能量和希望去描绘。但这些日子里，我们看到的更多是暗淡的颜色。这正是我想跟大家说的。经济增长持续低迷、失业率居高不下（特别是年轻人失业）的阴云笼罩着我们。我们怎样才能找回希望之色，将它描绘到这幅画中呢？

 

I am troubled to no end by the stark contrast between the benefits and promises that education brings with it – here at Bocconi and elsewhere – and the harsh reality that many young adults face in the labor market. That they do not get the chance to apply their educated minds to the workplace, to hone their skills in the day-to-day work environment, or to gain the experience necessary to embark on successful careers. This has become a pervasive problem in Europe, and it is particularly acute in Italy.

 

教育带给我们收益和希望——在博科尼大学，在其他地方。同时，许多年轻人在就业市场上面对着严峻的现实——他们没有机会将所受教育用到工作中，没有机会在日常工作环境中磨炼他们的技能，没有机会获得踏上成功职业生涯所需的经验。以上这两方面之间的鲜明对照一直困扰着我。年轻人的失业在欧洲已成为一个普遍问题，在意大利尤为如此。

 

This is not just a cross for the young to bear. Sooner or later this is a cross that society will need to bear. Persistent unemployment not only undermines economic activity, it undermines people’s self-esteem, and it tears at the fabric of society and institutions by breeding inequality and sometimes violence.

 

这不仅是年轻人面对的问题，迟早也将是整个社会需要面对的问题。持续失业不仅会损害经济活动，而且会损害人们的自尊，同时，会滋生不平等，有时还会引起暴力，从而摧毁社会和制度架构。

 

Tackling the problem of youth unemployment is therefore a shared responsibility—between government, the private sector, and society as a whole – at both the national and European levels. With this in mind, I would like to focus on three key topics that can help shape your future:

 

所以，解决年轻人失业问题是政府、私人部门和整个社会的共同责任，包括在各国和整个欧洲层面。为此，我想着重谈谈影响你们未来的三个问题：

 

(i) First, a deeper look at the problem of youth unemployment;

 

1）首先，深入分析年轻人失业问题。

 

(ii) Second, the remedies that can be pursued at the national level to tackle it; and

 

2）其次，各国为解决这一问题可以采取的补救措施。

 

(iii) Finally, policies at the Euro Area level to complement and reinforce national policies to support growth and combat youth unemployment.

 

3）第三，为辅助和增强国家政策，支持经济增长和解决年轻人失业问题，需要在欧元区层面实施的政策。

 

1. Youth Unemployment – Causes and Consequences

一、年轻人失业——原因和后果

 

Today, unemployment among Italy’s youth stands at more than 40 percent – the highest in almost 30 years. If the unemployed could form their own region, they would be almost as big as Umbria – 700,000 people. These numbers would make Mona Lisa frown, not smile!

 

现在，意大利年轻人失业率超过40%，处于近30 年来的最高水平。如果失业者自成一个地区，那将几乎与翁布利亚区一样大——有70 万人。这些数字会让蒙娜丽莎眉头紧锁，而不是面带微笑！

 

The IMF is publishing today a paper called “Youth Unemployment in Advanced Europe: Searching for Solutions” which looks at this very issue, not just for Italy but for other countries in Europe as well. Here are two key messages from that paper:

 

基金组织今天发布了一份题为《欧洲先进经济体的年轻人失业问题——寻找解决办法》的文件。该文件分析了这一问题，不仅针对意大利，还包括欧洲其他国家。下面是该文传达的两个主要讯息。

 

First, when growth is low, youth unemployment is high. On average, across advanced European countries, the impact of weak growth on youth is three times larger than that for the adult unemployed. In fact, about 70 percent of the increase in youth unemployment in vulnerable countries during the crisis can be traced back to feeble growth.

 

首先，如果经济增长缓慢，年轻人失业率就会很高。在欧洲先进国家，平均来说，经济增长疲软对年轻人的影响是对成年失业者影响的三倍。事实上，危机期间脆弱国家年轻人失业的加剧约有70%可归因于经济增长疲软。

 

What is the implication? Reviving growth is a first order priority. Our research shows that one additional percentage point of GDP growth in Italy can lower the youth unemployment rate by 0.6 percentage points. That’s a lot of people going back to work. This would be an important step forward.

 

这说明什么？加快经济增长是重中之重。我们的研究显示，在意大利，GDP增长率每上升1个百分点，年轻人失业率会下降0.6个百分点。很多人将重新找到工作。这将是向前迈出的重要一步。

 

Second, institutions matter. In many countries, including Italy, youth unemployment was already quite high when the global crisis struck. The crisis simply made the situation worse.

 

其次，制度很重要。在许多国家，包括意大利，当全球危机爆发时，年轻人失业率已经很高。危机只是使失业情况加剧。

 

Why is that? Because certain labor market characteristics – such as high levels of protection for workers on permanent contracts or large hiring costs – conspire against youth employment. And in countries such as Italy, they make youth unemployment even more sensitive to growth.

 

为什么会这样？因为劳动力市场的某些特征（例如，对永久合同工人的高水平保护或高额雇用成本）不利于年轻人就业。并且，在意大利等国，这些特征使年轻人失业对经济增长更为敏感。

 

Let me put these two findings in perspective and give you a sense of magnitude. Between 1996 and 2001, Italy was able to reduce its total unemployment rate by 7 percentage points by growing at an average rate of almost 2 percent per year.

 

我把这两个分析结果合在一起，给大家一个数量概念。1996－2001年，意大利在每年平均增长近2%的情况下，得以将总失业率降低7 个百分点。

 

The problem is that our current forecasts for growth are far weaker – about 1 percent annually over the next four years. At the same time, inflation remains persistently low – usually a clear sign that resources remain underutilized.

 

问题是，我们当前的增长预测要弱得多——今后四年每年约为1%。同时，通胀率仍然很低，这通常清晰地显示了资源没有得到充分利用。

 

Low growth and low inflation are a toxic mix. They create a vicious circle: if you expect low growth in the future, you will invest less, and hire less, today. Overcoming this vicious cycle is the challenge, not only for Italy, but for Europe as well.

 

低增长和低通胀是一种“有毒的组合”。它们形成恶性循环：如果预期未来经济增长缓慢，当前就会减少投资和雇佣。打破这种恶性循环不仅对意大利是个挑战，对整个欧洲也是挑战。