📚 The Economist Glossary of Common Economic Terms (Part 2) | 《经济学人》常用词汇汇编（下）
Welcome to the second installment of our curated glossary of economic terms frequently encountered in The Economist. Mastering these concepts is essential for decoding policy debates, financial news, and global economic trends. Below we continue with key terms from macroeconomics, international trade, and finance.
欢迎来到《经济学人》常用经济词汇汇编的第二部分。掌握这些概念对于解读政策辩论、财经新闻和全球经济趋势至关重要。以下我们继续介绍宏观经济学、国际贸易和金融领域的关键术语。
1. Monetary Policy | 货币政策
Monetary policy refers to the actions undertaken by a central bank, such as the Federal Reserve or the European Central Bank, to control the money supply and interest rates in order to achieve macroeconomic objectives like price stability, full employment, and economic growth.
货币政策是指中央银行（如美联储或欧洲中央银行）为控制货币供应量和利率，以实现价格稳定、充分就业和经济增长等宏观经济目标而采取的行动。
Central banks primarily use open market operations, reserve requirements, and the discount rate to influence liquidity. In recent years, unconventional tools like quantitative easing (QE) have also become prominent.
中央银行主要使用公开市场操作、存款准备金率和再贴现率来影响流动性。近年来，量化宽松（QE）等非常规工具也变得突出。
2. Fiscal Policy | 财政政策
Fiscal policy involves government decisions on taxation and public spending to influence the economy. Expansionary fiscal policy, such as tax cuts or increased infrastructure investment, aims to stimulate demand during a recession.
财政政策涉及政府在税收和公共支出方面的决策以影响经济。扩张性财政政策，如减税或增加基础设施投资，旨在衰退期间刺激需求。
Conversely, contractionary fiscal policy reduces the budget deficit by raising taxes or cutting expenditure, often used to cool an overheating economy or reduce public debt.
相反，紧缩性财政政策通过增税或削减支出来减少预算赤字，通常用于为过热的经济降温或降低公共债务。
3. Inflation | 通货膨胀
Inflation measures the rate at which the general level of prices for goods and services rises, eroding purchasing power. Central banks typically target an inflation rate of around 2% per year as a sign of a healthy economy.
通货膨胀衡量商品和服务总体价格水平上升的速度，侵蚀了购买力。中央银行通常将年通胀率目标定在2%左右，作为经济健康的标志。
Cost-push inflation arises from higher production costs, while demand-pull inflation stems from excessive aggregate demand chasing limited supply.
成本推动型通货膨胀源于生产成本的上升，而需求拉动型通货膨胀则源于过度的总需求追逐有限的供给。
4. Deflation | 通货紧缩
Deflation is a sustained decline in the general price level, which may increase the real value of debt and prompt consumers to delay purchases, potentially deepening an economic downturn. Japan’s ‘Lost Decades’ offer a cautionary tale.
通货紧缩是总体价格水平的持续下降，这可能增加债务的实际价值并促使消费者推迟购买，从而可能加深经济衰退。日本“失去的几十年”提供了警示。
Policymakers fear deflationary spirals because they are harder to combat than moderate inflation; once expectations become entrenched, conventional monetary policy becomes impotent near the zero lower bound.
政策制定者担心通缩螺旋，因为通缩比温和通胀更难对付；一旦预期根深蒂固，在零利率下限附近，常规货币政策就会失效。
5. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) | 国内生产总值
GDP is the total monetary value of all final goods and services produced within a country’s borders in a specific time period. It can be measured via expenditure, income, or production approaches.
国内生产总值是一个国家在一定时期内境内生产的所有最终商品和服务的货币总价值。它可以通过支出法、收入法或生产法来衡量。
Real GDP adjusts for inflation, providing a more accurate picture of economic growth than nominal GDP. Per capita GDP divides total output by population, serving as a rough welfare indicator.
实际GDP经过通胀调整，比名义GDP更能准确反映经济增长。人均GDP将总产出除以人口，作为一个粗略的福利指标。
A standard expression for GDP using the expenditure approach is:
使用支出法计算GDP的标准表达式为：
GDP = C + I + G + (X – M)
GDP = C + I + G + (X – M)
6. Unemployment Rate | 失业率
The unemployment rate represents the percentage of the labour force that is jobless but actively seeking employment. It is a key indicator of economic slack but does not capture discouraged workers or underemployment.
失业率代表劳动力中没有工作但积极寻找工作的人所占的百分比。它是经济疲软的关键指标，但未能涵盖失去信心的工人或就业不足的情况。
Structural unemployment results from a mismatch between workers’ skills and job requirements; cyclical unemployment fluctuates with the business cycle; frictional unemployment occurs naturally as workers transition between jobs.
结构性失业源于工人技能与职位要求之间的不匹配；周期性失业随商业周期波动；摩擦性失业在工人转换工作时自然发生。
7. Supply and Demand | 供给与需求
Supply and demand form the foundational model of microeconomics. The law of demand states that, ceteris paribus, as price falls, quantity demanded rises. The law of supply asserts that quantity supplied typically increases with price.
供给与需求构成了微观经济学的基础模型。需求定律指出，在其他条件不变的情况下，价格下降，需求量上升。供给定律断言，供给量通常随价格上升而增加。
Market equilibrium occurs where the supply and demand curves intersect, determining the market-clearing price and quantity. Shifts in either curve lead to new equilibria.
市场均衡发生在供给和需求曲线相交之处，决定了市场出清价格和数量。任一曲线的移动都会导致新的均衡。
8. Comparative Advantage | 比较优势
Comparative advantage is the ability of an entity to produce a good at a lower opportunity cost than another. It is the bedrock of international trade theory, explaining why countries benefit from specialisation and trade even if one is more efficient in producing everything.
比较优势是一个实体以比另一实体更低的机会成本生产一种商品的能力。它是国际贸易理论的基石，解释了为何即使一个国家在所有产品的生产上都更有效率，各国仍能从专业化和贸易中获益。
David Ricardo’s classic example of England and Portugal exchanging cloth and wine remains a powerful illustration of the gains from trade.
大卫·李嘉图关于英国和葡萄牙交换布和酒的经典例子，至今仍有力说明了贸易的收益。
9. Exchange Rate | 汇率
The exchange rate is the price of one currency in terms of another. It can be floating, determined by market forces; fixed, pegged to another currency or basket; or a managed float in between.
汇率是以另一种货币表示的一种货币的价格。它可以是浮动的，由市场力量决定；固定的，钉住另一种货币或一篮子货币；或是介于两者之间的有管理的浮动。
Appreciation makes imports cheaper and exports more expensive, while depreciation has the opposite effect. Exchange rate volatility can significantly impact multinational corporations and trade balances.
升值使进口更便宜、出口更昂贵，而贬值则产生相反的效果。汇率波动会显著影响跨国公司和贸易收支。
10. Balance of Payments | 国际收支平衡
The balance of payments (BoP) records all economic transactions between residents of a country and the rest of the world over a period. It consists of the current account (trade in goods, services, income) and the capital and financial account (investment flows).
国际收支记录了一国居民在一定时期内与世界其他地区之间的所有经济交易。它包括经常账户（商品、服务、收入贸易）和资本与金融账户（投资流动）。
A current account deficit must be financed by a surplus on the capital and financial account, reflecting an inflow of foreign capital. Persistent imbalances can trigger currency crises.
经常账户赤字必须由资本与金融账户的盈余提供资金，这反映了外国资本的流入。持续的失衡可能引发货币危机。
11. Derivatives | 衍生品
Derivatives are financial contracts whose value is derived from an underlying asset, index, or interest rate. Common derivatives include futures, options, and swaps, used for hedging risk or speculative purposes.
衍生品是其价值衍生于基础资产、指数或利率的金融合约。常见的衍生品包括期货、期权和掉期，用于对冲风险或投机。
The 2008 financial crisis highlighted the dangers of opaque, over-the-counter derivatives and counterparty risk, leading to regulatory reforms such as mandatory clearing for standardised contracts.
2008年金融危机凸显了不透明的场外衍生品和对手方风险的危险，导致监管改革，如对标准化合约的强制性清算。
12. Securitisation | 证券化
Securitisation is the process of pooling various types of loans (e.g., mortgages, credit card receivables) and selling their cash flows as tradable securities to investors. It transforms illiquid assets into liquid ones, freeing up lenders’ balance sheets.
证券化是将各种类型的贷款（如抵押贷款、信用卡应收账款）汇集起来，并将其现金流作为可交易证券出售给投资者的过程。它将非流动资产转化为流动资产，释放了贷款人的资产负债表。
While securitisation can diversify risk and increase credit availability, the subprime mortgage crisis demonstrated how poorly structured securities and misaligned incentives can destabilise the entire financial system.
虽然证券化可以分散风险并增加信贷可获得性，但次贷危机表明，结构不良的证券和激励错配会破坏整个金融体系的稳定。
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