親愛(ài)的經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)家，
Dear Economist,
我與另一位母親一起，給我5歲的孩子合辦了一個(gè)生日聚會(huì)。我出了200英鎊，但我收到了至少300英鎊的禮物，我因此感到很內(nèi)疚。作為一名客人，我不喜歡這些聚會(huì)，因?yàn)檗k聚會(huì)的人只出了一份食物，卻收兩份禮物。但合辦聚會(huì)確實(shí)是一種理性的做法，因?yàn)槟闾鸵话氲腻X，卻收整份的禮，是這樣嗎？
I feel guilty because I paid ￡200 to co-host a birthday party for my five-year-old with another mother, but got at least ￡300 of gifts in return. As a guest, I don't like these parties because you take two gifts in return for only one party bag. But co-hosting is surely a rational thing because you pay half and get a full complement of presents?
一位來(lái)自南倫敦的母親
South London Mum
親愛(ài)的來(lái)自南倫敦的母親，
Dear SLM,
祝賀你舉辦了效率更高的生日聚會(huì)。這似乎是一件趣事，因?yàn)槟銢](méi)有認(rèn)識(shí)到這里面真正稀缺的資源。它不是聚會(huì)食物或者一次性玩具，而是時(shí)間。通過(guò)與一位朋友合辦生日聚會(huì)，你為許多父母節(jié)省了時(shí)間，否則他們就需要連著參加兩個(gè)這種聚會(huì)。孩子們可能會(huì)覺(jué)得受到了虧待，但過(guò)后可能就不會(huì)了。就算是5歲的孩子也不想天天聚會(huì)。
Congratulations on your move to more efficient birthday parties. It seems to be a happy accident, since you have failed to realise the true scarce resource here. It is not party bags or disposable toys, but time. By hosting a joint party with a friend, you are saving time for many parents who would have had to attend two such parties in quick succession. The children may feel hard done by but, then again, they may not. Even five-year-olds do not want a party every day.
至于通過(guò)這些聚會(huì)謀利，一位經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)家的理解是，禮物不需要立刻交換，價(jià)值也不需要嚴(yán)格對(duì)等。你舉辦了一個(gè)賺錢的聚會(huì)，但當(dāng)其他人同樣做時(shí)，你感覺(jué)受到了剝削——或許你應(yīng)當(dāng)將這些聚會(huì)看做是一個(gè)硬幣的兩面。這些利潤(rùn)和損失用不了多長(zhǎng)時(shí)間就會(huì)扯平。信貸緊縮并不是那么嚴(yán)重，你不至于連一兩個(gè)月都等不了，就盼著還禮吧？
As for making a profit on these parties, an economist understands that gifts need not be exchanged instantly and with exact accounting for value. You hosted a profitable party but feel exploited when others reciprocate – perhaps you should see these events as two sides of the same coin. It will not take long before these profits and losses even out. Surely the credit squeeze is not so severe that you cannot wait a month or two for a return on your gift giving?
至于聚會(huì)食物，它們當(dāng)然是不道德的：為了減輕你的負(fù)罪感，你給其他人的孩子服用糖和添加劑。我建議你將聚會(huì)食物減半——我的不滿是，你沒(méi)有將它們?nèi)咳∠?BR> As for party bags, they are truly immoral: to quell your feelings of guilt, you dose up other people's children with sugar and additives. I commend your move to halve the supply of party bags – my only complaint is that you have not eliminated them altogether
Dear Economist,
我與另一位母親一起，給我5歲的孩子合辦了一個(gè)生日聚會(huì)。我出了200英鎊，但我收到了至少300英鎊的禮物，我因此感到很內(nèi)疚。作為一名客人，我不喜歡這些聚會(huì)，因?yàn)檗k聚會(huì)的人只出了一份食物，卻收兩份禮物。但合辦聚會(huì)確實(shí)是一種理性的做法，因?yàn)槟闾鸵话氲腻X，卻收整份的禮，是這樣嗎？
I feel guilty because I paid ￡200 to co-host a birthday party for my five-year-old with another mother, but got at least ￡300 of gifts in return. As a guest, I don't like these parties because you take two gifts in return for only one party bag. But co-hosting is surely a rational thing because you pay half and get a full complement of presents?
一位來(lái)自南倫敦的母親
South London Mum
親愛(ài)的來(lái)自南倫敦的母親，
Dear SLM,
祝賀你舉辦了效率更高的生日聚會(huì)。這似乎是一件趣事，因?yàn)槟銢](méi)有認(rèn)識(shí)到這里面真正稀缺的資源。它不是聚會(huì)食物或者一次性玩具，而是時(shí)間。通過(guò)與一位朋友合辦生日聚會(huì)，你為許多父母節(jié)省了時(shí)間，否則他們就需要連著參加兩個(gè)這種聚會(huì)。孩子們可能會(huì)覺(jué)得受到了虧待，但過(guò)后可能就不會(huì)了。就算是5歲的孩子也不想天天聚會(huì)。
Congratulations on your move to more efficient birthday parties. It seems to be a happy accident, since you have failed to realise the true scarce resource here. It is not party bags or disposable toys, but time. By hosting a joint party with a friend, you are saving time for many parents who would have had to attend two such parties in quick succession. The children may feel hard done by but, then again, they may not. Even five-year-olds do not want a party every day.
至于通過(guò)這些聚會(huì)謀利，一位經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)家的理解是，禮物不需要立刻交換，價(jià)值也不需要嚴(yán)格對(duì)等。你舉辦了一個(gè)賺錢的聚會(huì)，但當(dāng)其他人同樣做時(shí)，你感覺(jué)受到了剝削——或許你應(yīng)當(dāng)將這些聚會(huì)看做是一個(gè)硬幣的兩面。這些利潤(rùn)和損失用不了多長(zhǎng)時(shí)間就會(huì)扯平。信貸緊縮并不是那么嚴(yán)重，你不至于連一兩個(gè)月都等不了，就盼著還禮吧？
As for making a profit on these parties, an economist understands that gifts need not be exchanged instantly and with exact accounting for value. You hosted a profitable party but feel exploited when others reciprocate – perhaps you should see these events as two sides of the same coin. It will not take long before these profits and losses even out. Surely the credit squeeze is not so severe that you cannot wait a month or two for a return on your gift giving?
至于聚會(huì)食物，它們當(dāng)然是不道德的：為了減輕你的負(fù)罪感，你給其他人的孩子服用糖和添加劑。我建議你將聚會(huì)食物減半——我的不滿是，你沒(méi)有將它們?nèi)咳∠?BR> As for party bags, they are truly immoral: to quell your feelings of guilt, you dose up other people's children with sugar and additives. I commend your move to halve the supply of party bags – my only complaint is that you have not eliminated them altogether