给生命定价范文

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1、给生命定价范文　　COSTOFLIVING　　”Yourmoneyoryourlife.”Thechoicetraditionallypresentedbythehighwaymanissupposedtohaveonlyonesensibleanswer.Moneyis,afterall,nousetoacorpse.Yeteconomistsoftenstudysomethingratherlikethehighwayman'sofferinanattempttouncovertheanswertoanimportantques

2、tion:howmuchisyourlifeactuallyworth?　　Likemanyawkwardquestions,thisisonethathastobeanswered.Safetyregulationssavelivesbutalsoraisethecostofdoingbusiness,acostweallpaythroughhigherprices.Aretheyworthit?Ourtaxespayforlifesavingspendingonroadsafetyandfirefighting.Aretheyh

3、ighenough,ortoohigh?　　Sohowmucharewewillingtospendtosavealife?Atraditionalplanner'sapproachusedtobetomeasurethevalueofwageslostduetodeathorinjury.That'sdreadful:itconfuseswhatIthinkmylifeisworthwithwhatmybossthinksmylifeisworth.　　Soanalternativeistoaskpeoplehowmuchthey

4、wouldpayforasafercarorkitchencleaner.Butsuchsurveysdonotalwaysproducesensibleresults.Ouranswersdependonwhetherwe'rebeingofferedasafer?10householdcleanerandthenaskedifwewantthemoredangerous?5version,orwhetherwe'reofferedthe?5brandandthenaskedifwe'llpay?10forthesaferprod

5、uct.Peopleoftenanswer”no”tobothquestions,contradictingthemselves.Theseinconsistenciesmeanthatwe'reeitherirrationalorlyingtopollsters,andperhapsboth.　　Economiststhereforetendtopreferobservingrealchoices.Ifyou'rewillingtocrossabusystreettopickupa?20note,theeconomistwhopu

6、tittherecaninfersomethingaboutyourwillingnesstoacceptrisk.Moreorthodoxapproacheslookatcareerchoices:ifyou'rewillingtobealumberjack,partofthatdecisionistoacceptriskinexchangeforfinancialreward.　　Beingasoldierisrisky;soisbeingadrugdealerorprostitute.Thedifficulty,evident

7、ly,istodisentanglethehealthriskandthefinancialrewardfromalltheothermotivationstochooseaparticularwayoflife.Thatisn'teasybuteconomiststry.　　WorldBankeconomistPaulGertlerandhiscolleaguesreckonedthatMexicanprostitutesvaluedtheirlivesatabout$50,000peryear,basedonwillingnes

8、stotakemoneynottousecondoms.Atfivetimestheirannualearnings,that'sasimilarfiguretoworkersacceptingriskyjobsinrichcount