在上一讲中我们跟您谈了生产和经济活动中的效率,也就是efficiency,包括: & e7 c2 E! G* i; [1 I
1 productive efficiency 生产效率2 allocative efficiency 配置效率3 dynamic efficiency 动态效率4 exchange efficiency 交换效率 5 i$ t# t/ a$ u5 |2 j: z# e- D
今天我们要谈的话题是 competition - 竞争。
& x/ t( L3 z; H7 v& m& I. P$ _ 要获得所有形式的效率,必须要有“完全竞争”,也就是 perfect competition.而完全竞争需要有两个先决条件: ' O- s9 n9 {( D3 O/ o) b( M
1 有大量生产者各生产产品的一小部分。 3 y, F$ P. t+ F; w. |' V: o
2 产品必须完全一致,使消费者不会对任何一个生产者的产品有任何特别的选择或偏爱。 6 ?" R& Z) e& Q5 _0 r- R- \7 ^
这两个条件二者缺一就不是完全竞争。因此实际上在真实的市场当中所谓的“完全竞争”并不存在,它只是一种假设的理论。因为每个生产者的产品不可能完全一致,消费者也一定会在购买时作出比较和选择。
1 B- f: [. i, F" |4 @ 现实生活中的竞争是“可行竞争”,英文是 workable competition,也叫做“不完全竞争”,英文是 imperfect competition.
/ K. K& |- F" x 现在我们再听一遍这几个英文词汇:
! n" ]( j0 _" z: H1 d$ p B 1 competition 竞争2 perfect competition 完全竞争3 workable competition or imperfect competition 可行竞争或不完全竞争
- U" Z7 o5 \; G 澳大利亚消费事务与竞争委员会主席费尔斯对竞争的作用做了这样的解释: : g5 F2 z) y! j! K8 \; M
The alternative to competition is monopoly, where there’s a single supplier of a good or a service and that person konwing there’s no competition has the opportunity to put up prices. There’s no great pressure on them to keep their costs down and to be efficient. ) \2 V' e/ G$ [4 R) E/ a
So it’s that competitive pressure that tends to make markets respond to what consumers want, to offer the best deals, and also to be technically progressive, to innovate under the pressure of competition.
1 u/ L- j* p0 w9 M 费尔斯在谈话中用了这样一个词汇:monopoly - 垄 断。
, R* w1 H. u N4 O 费尔斯说,与竞争相对的是垄断。当某种商品或服务只由唯一的供应商提供给市场时,供应商知道没有竞争,就有可能提高价格。对他们来说没有太大的压力要他们降低成本提高效率。
! ?9 j9 I% e( t& O 因此是竞争的压力使市场对消费者的需求作出回应,提供物美价廉的商品,同时也促进技术上的进步,在竞争的压力下进行革新。 1 r7 j0 i) O2 O3 u6 F" F! R
下面我们再听一遍费尔斯这段讲话的原文。(略) ( k/ g. `+ D- m& h( o! Y
竞争对整个社会和消费者个人都有益处。通常竞争不仅仅意味着更低的价格和更好的服务,而且也意味着顾客可以有更多的选择。
6 k: Q5 q' C, e9 f3 s* y; b, c 费尔斯接着对竞争的功能做了进一步的解释: 0 K# h$ l2 E6 P5 B* t- c4 Y
You may get consumers who want very high quality services satisfied, but at a higher price. And the people who want no-frills service and cheap product will also get it at the other end of the market. So competition allows a range of variety to occur in a market. 8 W s6 P) P, _. D( @* Q4 W3 Q
费尔斯说,有些顾客愿意付出较高的价格来获得高品质的商品或服务。另一方面,有人需要的是基本的服务和便宜的商品。他们的需求在市场上也能得到满足。因此竞争使市场的供应多种多样。
% B% L! H$ L! Z; G The benefit to society of competition is that it makes a major contribution to the fundamental economic issue, which is the scarcity of productive resources. It means that on the production side, there is maximum pressure to conserve the use of those scarce productive resources.
, W6 i7 ^' p; } On the demand side it also rations consumer demand appropriately, and it also tends to mean that the variety of consumer needs can be met. |