ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Esther Duflo - Development economist
Esther Duflo takes economics out of the lab and into the field to discover the causes of poverty and means to eradicate it.

Why you should listen

2009 MacArthur fellow Esther Duflo is pushing the field of development economics by studying specific causal relationships that lead to or perpetuate poverty. She looks at close-to-home issues: household behavior, education, access to finance and health.

At MIT, she's the founder and director of the Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL), a research network that evaluates social programs. It's concerned less with wide-ranging policy than with specific questions. Sample: If schoolkids could get their uniforms for free, would attendance go up? What's an effective way to reward mothers for immunizing their babies? Randomized trials offer new insights toward creating global equity and prosperity. Her work may blur the lines between economics and activism, but it's a role Duflo not only considers comfortable but vital.

Her new book is Poor Economics, with Abhijit W. Banerjee. 

More profile about the speaker
Esther Duflo | Speaker | TED.com
TED2010

Esther Duflo: Social experiments to fight poverty

Esther Duflo:战胜贫困的社会实验

Filmed:
1,298,863 views

减少贫困与其说是科学,不如说是试验猜测。而缺少援助产生的影响的相关数据,带来到底该怎样提供援助的问题。但是卡拉克奖得主Esther Duflo讨论哪些努力是有帮助哪些可能有害——通过随机化测试的方案。
- Development economist
Esther Duflo takes economics out of the lab and into the field to discover the causes of poverty and means to eradicate it. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:18
So here it is. You can check: I am short, I'm French法国,
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各位 你们可以看到 我很矮 我是法国人
00:20
I have a pretty漂亮 strong强大 French法国 accent口音,
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我有很重的法国口音
00:22
so that's going to be clear明确 in a moment时刻.
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一会你们就会发现这一点
00:26
Maybe a sobering发人深省 thought
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或者这很触目惊心
00:28
and something you all know about.
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你们都知道这些事
00:30
And I suspect疑似 many许多 of you gave
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我想你们中的很多人
00:32
something to the people of Haiti海地 this year.
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今年还给海地人捐献了东西
00:35
And there is something else其他
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但还有些别的事
00:37
I believe in the back of your mind心神
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我相信在你们脑中
00:39
you also know.
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你们也知道
00:41
That is, every一切 day,
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就是每天都会有
00:43
25,000 children孩子 die
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25,000个孩子丧生
00:45
of entirely完全 preventable预防的 causes原因.
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死于完全可以预防的原因
00:48
That's a Haiti海地 earthquake地震 every一切 eight days.
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那是每八天的海地地震情况
00:51
And I suspect疑似 many许多 of you probably大概 gave something
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我想你们中的很多人也许
00:53
towards that problem问题 as well,
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也想过这个问题
00:55
but somehow不知何故 it doesn't happen发生
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但是
00:57
with the same相同 intensity强度.
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每次灾难的破坏程度不太一样
00:59
So why is that?
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那么 这是为什么呢?
01:02
Well, here is a thought experiment实验 for you.
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你们看一下这样一个实验
01:05
Imagine想像 you have a few少数 million百万 dollars美元 that you've raised上调 --
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想象下 你募集了几百万美金
01:07
maybe you're a politician政治家 in a developing发展 country国家
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你可能是某个发展中国家的官员
01:10
and you have a budget预算 to spend. You want to spend it on the poor较差的:
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你有个花钱的预算 你想把钱用在帮助贫困上
01:13
How do you go about it?
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你会怎样做?
01:16
Do you believe the people who tell you
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你会相信这样的人:
01:18
that all we need to do is to spend money?
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他们认为 我们所有该做的就是花钱
01:20
That we know how to eradicate根除 poverty贫穷,
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我们知道如何消除贫困
01:23
we just need to do more?
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我们只是需要做更多
01:25
Or do you believe the people who tell you that
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还是会相信另外一些人:
01:27
aid援助 is not going to help, on the contrary相反 it might威力 hurt伤害,
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他们认为 援助没啥用,反而有坏处
01:30
it might威力 exacerbate加剧 corruption腐败, dependence依赖, etc等等.?
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它可能助长腐败、依赖性等等
01:34
Or maybe you turn to the past过去.
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或者你会想想过去
01:36
After all, we have spent花费 billions数十亿 of dollars美元 on aid援助.
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毕竟,我们花费了数十亿美金在援助上
01:39
Maybe you look at the past过去 and see.
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你们看看过去
01:41
Has it doneDONE any good?
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看看援助是否做了些好事
01:43
And, sadly可悲的是, we don't know.
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很遗憾,我们不知道
01:45
And worst最差 of all, we will never know.
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最糟糕的是,我们永远也不会知道
01:49
And the reason原因 is that -- take Africa非洲 for example.
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而原因是——拿非洲作为例子
01:51
Africans非洲人 have already已经 got a lot of aid援助.
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非洲人得到很多援助
01:53
These are the blue蓝色 bars酒吧.
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就是这些蓝条
01:55
And the GDPGDP in Africa非洲 is not making制造 much progress进展.
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而非洲的GDP却没咋增长
01:58
Okay, fine. How do you know what
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好的, 你们如何得知
02:00
would have happened发生 without the aid援助?
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没有援助会发生什么
02:02
Maybe it would have been much worse更差,
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或许会坏很多
02:05
or maybe it would have been better.
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或许会好很多
02:07
We have no idea理念. We don't know what the counterfactual is.
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我们不知道 不知道这样假设会如何
02:10
There's only one Africa非洲.
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只有一个非洲
02:12
So what do you do?
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那么 你们会怎样做
02:14
To give the aid援助, and hope希望 and pray祈祷 that something comes out of it?
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给援助 然后希望、祈祷它会带了些好处
02:18
Or do you focus焦点 on your everyday每天 life
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还是 仅仅关注自己的每日生活
02:21
and let the earthquake地震 every一切 eight days
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而让每八天一次的地震
02:23
continue继续 to happen发生?
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继续发生?
02:25
The thing is, if we don't know
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要注意 如果我们不知道
02:27
whether是否 we are doing any good,
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我们是否在做好事
02:29
we are not any better
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我们就甚至还不如
02:31
than the Medieval中世纪 doctors医生 and their leeches水蛭.
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中世纪的医生和那些寄生虫做得更好
02:34
Sometimes有时 the patient患者 gets得到 better, sometimes有时 the patient患者 dies.
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有时候病人治好 有时候病人死去
02:37
Is it the leeches水蛭? Is it something else其他?
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这是因为寄生虫,还是因为别的什么?
02:40
We don't know.
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我们不知道
02:42
So here are some other questions问题.
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还要另外几个问题
02:44
They're smaller questions问题,
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这些问题很小
02:46
but they are not that small.
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但又不是那么小
02:48
Immunization免疫接种, that's the cheapest最便宜 way
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免疫 这是挽救孩子生命
02:51
to save保存 a child's孩子的 life.
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最便宜的方法
02:53
And the world世界 has spent花费 a lot of money on it:
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世界花了很多钱在免疫上
02:55
The GAVIGAVI and the Gates盖茨 Foundations基金会
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国际免疫预防联合会(GAVI)和盖茨基金会
02:57
are each pledging认捐 a lot of money towards it,
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都在免疫上投入很多钱
02:59
and developing发展 countries国家 themselves他们自己 have been doing a lot of effort功夫.
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发展国家自身也做了很多努力
03:02
And yet然而, every一切 year
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然而,每年
03:04
at least最小 25 million百万 children孩子
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至少2500万儿童
03:06
do not get the immunization免疫接种 they should get.
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不能得到他们本应得到的免疫
03:09
So this is what you call a "last mile英里 problem问题."
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这就是所谓的“最后一英里难题” (last mile problem 指人们能得到并正确使用质量好的药物)
03:12
The technology技术 is there,
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我们有技术
03:14
the infrastructure基础设施 is there,
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我们有基础设施
03:16
and yet然而 it doesn't happen发生.
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但是,问题却没有得到解决
03:18
So you have your million百万.
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那么 当你有百万美金时
03:20
How do you use your million百万
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你怎样花钱
03:22
to solve解决 this last mile英里 problem问题?
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才能解决“最后一英里难题”
03:24
And here's这里的 another另一个 question:
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还有另外一个问题
03:26
Malaria疟疾. Malaria疟疾 kills杀死 almost几乎
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疟疾 疟疾每年夺走
03:29
900,000 people every一切 year,
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90万人的生命
03:32
most of them in Sub-Saharan撒哈拉以南 Africa非洲,
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大多数死者在撒哈拉以南的非洲
03:34
most of them under five.
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大多数年龄小于5岁
03:36
In fact事实, that is the leading领导 cause原因 of under-five五岁 mortality死亡.
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事实上 疟疾是5岁下儿童的最主要死因
03:39
We already已经 know how to kill malaria疟疾,
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我们已经知道如何治愈疟疾
03:42
but some people come to you and say,
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但有些人找到你 并对你说
03:44
"You have your millions百万. How about bed nets?"
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“你有几百万,不如买蚊帐吧”
03:47
Bed nets are very cheap低廉.
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蚊帐很便宜
03:49
For 10 dollars美元, you can manufacture制造 and ship
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只要10美元,你就能制造并运输
03:52
an insecticide杀虫剂 treated治疗 bed net
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一个经过杀虫剂处理的蚊帐
03:54
and you can teach someone有人 to use them.
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而且,你能教人们使用蚊帐
03:56
And, not only do they protect保护 the people who sleep睡觉 under them,
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此外,蚊帐不仅能保护谁在蚊帐里的人
03:59
but they have these great contagion传染性 benefits好处.
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而且还有巨大的防传染功效
04:01
If half of a community社区 sleeps睡觉 under a net,
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如果社区里一半的人睡在蚊帐里
04:04
the other half also benefits好处
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另一半也能受惠
04:06
because the contagion传染性 of the disease疾病 spread传播.
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因为疾病能传染、扩散
04:09
And yet然而, only a quarter25美分硬币 of kids孩子 at risk风险 sleep睡觉 under a net.
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然而,只有四分之一面临疟疾风险的孩子睡在蚊帐里
04:12
Societies社会 should be willing愿意 to go out
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社会应该愿意行动
04:14
and subsidize资助 the net, give them for free自由,
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资助购买蚊帐,并且免费捐赠
04:16
or, for that matter, pay工资 people to use them
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或者,在这个问题上,补贴那些使用蚊帐的人
04:18
because of those contagion传染性 benefits好处.
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因为蚊帐的防传染功效
04:20
"Not so fast快速," say other people.
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而另外一些人说 “别这么快”
04:22
"If you give the nets for free自由,
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“如果你免费提供蚊帐
04:24
people are not going to value them.
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人们不会珍惜蚊帐
04:26
They're not going to use them,
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他们不会去使用蚊帐
04:28
or at least最小 they're not going to use them as bed nets,
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或者至少他们不会把蚊帐当蚊帐使用
04:30
maybe as fishing钓鱼 nets."
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而可能是当作鱼网 (蚊帐为bed net,net的意思是”网“)
04:32
So, what do you do?
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那么,你会怎样做?
04:34
Do you give the nets for free自由 to maximize最大化 coverage覆盖,
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是免费提供蚊帐,以求最大限度的蚊帐覆盖率?
04:36
or do you make people pay工资
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还是要人们为蚊帐买单
04:38
in order订购 to make sure that they really value them?
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以使他们认识到蚊帐的价值?
04:40
How do you know?
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你怎么知道?
04:42
And a third第三 question: Education教育.
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第三个问题是 教育
04:44
Maybe that's the solution, maybe we should send发送 kids孩子 to school学校.
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或许这才是解决之道 或许我们应该送孩子去上学
04:46
But how do you do that?
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但是你会怎么去做?
04:48
Do you hire聘请 teachers教师? Do you build建立 more schools学校?
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你会聘请更多教师? 你会建更多校舍?
04:50
Do you provide提供 school学校 lunch午餐?
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你会提供学校午餐吗?
04:52
How do you know?
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你怎么知道哪种方法更好?
04:54
So here is the thing.
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这就是问题所在。
04:56
I cannot不能 answer回答 the big question,
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我无法回答那个大问题
04:58
whether是否 aid援助 did any good or not.
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即 援助是好是坏
05:00
But these three questions问题, I can answer回答 them.
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但是,我能回答这三个小问题
05:04
It's not the Middle中间 Ages时代 anymore,
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现在不再是中世纪
05:06
it's the 21stST century世纪.
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而是二十一世纪
05:08
And in the 20th century世纪,
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在二十世纪里
05:10
randomized随机, controlled受控 trials试验
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随机的、可控的试验
05:12
have revolutionized革命性 medicine医学
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已经将医药革命了
05:14
by allowing允许 us to distinguish区分
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因为它让我们能够区分
05:16
between之间 drugs毒品 that work
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有效的药物
05:18
and drugs毒品 that don't work.
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和无用的药物
05:20
And you can do the same相同
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现在 你可以采用同样的方式:
05:22
randomized随机, controlled受控 trial审讯 for social社会 policy政策.
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针对社会政策的 随机的、可控的试验
05:25
You can put social社会 innovation革新 to the same相同
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你可以对社会革新施以同样的
05:27
rigorous严格, scientific科学 tests测试
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精确而又科学的测试
05:29
that we use for drugs毒品.
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就像我们为药物所做的那样
05:31
And in this way, you can take the guesswork猜测
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以这种方式, 你可以把推测的成分
05:34
out of policy-making决策
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从政策制定中区分出来
05:36
by knowing会心 what works作品,
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因为你知道了什么可行
05:38
what doesn't work and why.
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什么不可行 为什么是这样
05:40
And I'll give you some examples例子 with those three questions问题.
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我会针对这三个问题举一些例子
05:44
So I start开始 with immunization免疫接种.
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首先从免疫开始
05:46
Here's这里的 Udaipur乌代布尔 District, Rajasthan拉贾斯坦邦. Beautiful美丽.
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这是印度拉贾斯坦邦的乌代布尔区 ,非常美丽
05:49
Well, when I started开始 working加工 there,
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当我开始在那工作时
05:51
about one percent百分 of children孩子
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约1%的儿童
05:53
were fully充分 immunized免疫.
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得到了完全免疫
05:55
That's bad, but there are places地方 like that.
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这很糟糕 但是还有很多地方好不到哪去
05:58
Now, it's not because the vaccines疫苗 are not there --
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现在,并不是因为那里没有疫苗
06:00
they are there and they are free自由 --
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疫苗在那,而且是免费的
06:02
and it's not because parents父母 do not care关心 about their kids孩子.
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也不因为父母不关心孩子
06:05
The same相同 child儿童 that is not immunized免疫 against反对 measles麻疹,
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一个没有免疫过麻疹的孩子
06:08
if they do get measles麻疹, parents父母 will spend
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一旦感染麻疹 父母将要花费
06:10
thousands数千 of rupees卢比 to help them.
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数千卢用于治疗
06:12
So you get these empty village subcenters子中心
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现在 你看到这些空荡荡的乡村中心
06:14
and crowded hospitals医院.
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和拥挤的医院
06:16
So what is the problem问题?
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那么问题在哪?
06:18
Well, part部分 of the problem问题, surely一定, is people do not fully充分 understand理解.
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部分问题当然是人们不太懂
06:21
After all, in this country国家 as well,
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毕竟在这个国家
06:23
all sorts排序 of myths神话 and misconceptions误解
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有各种关于疟疾的
06:25
go around immunization免疫接种.
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传说和误解.
06:28
So if that's the case案件, that's difficult,
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如果这是问题所在, 很麻烦
06:30
because persuasion劝说 is really difficult.
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因为很难说服人们.
06:33
But maybe there is another另一个 problem问题 as well.
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但是 或许还有另外一个问题.
06:35
It's going from intention意向 to action行动.
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人们开始从关注它到采取行动
06:38
Imagine想像 you are a mother母亲
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想象下你是位母亲
06:40
in Udaipur乌代布尔 District, Rajasthan拉贾斯坦邦.
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就生活在拉贾斯坦邦的乌代布尔区
06:42
You have to walk步行 a few少数 kilometers公里 to get your kids孩子 immunized免疫.
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你不得不不行几公里才能让孩子得到免疫
06:45
And maybe when you get there, what you find is this:
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或许当你到达免疫地点时 你会发现
06:47
The subcenter分中心 is closed关闭. Ao you have to come back,
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副中心关门了 那么你就不得不打道回府
06:49
and you are so busy and you have so many许多 other things to do,
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如果你很忙 你有很多事要做
06:52
you will always tend趋向 to postpone推迟 and postpone推迟,
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你将一直拖延拖延
06:54
and eventually终于 it gets得到 too late晚了.
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直到有一天已经太迟了.
06:56
Well, if that's the problem问题, then that's much easier更轻松.
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如果这是问题所在的话 倒是简单很多
06:59
Because A, we can make it easy简单,
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因为: A 我们能让免疫更容易
07:02
and B, we can maybe
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B 我们或许
07:04
give people a reason原因 to act法案 today今天,
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能给人们一个今天就行动的理由
07:06
rather than wait till直到 tomorrow明天.
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而不是等到明天.
07:08
So these are simple简单 ideas思路, but we didn't know.
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这是很简单的想法 但过去我们不知道.
07:10
So let's try them.
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那么让我们将这些想法付诸行动.
07:12
So what we did is we did a randomized随机, controlled受控 trial审讯
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我们过去的是 随机的、可控的试验
07:15
in 134 villages村庄 in Udaipur乌代布尔 Districts.
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在拉贾斯坦邦的乌代布尔区的134个村庄
07:17
So the blue蓝色 dots
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这些蓝点
07:19
are selected randomly随机.
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是随机选定的.
07:21
We made制作 it easy简单 -- I'll tell you how in a moment时刻.
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我们的做法很简单 一会我就告诉你们.
07:24
In the red dots, we made制作 it easy简单
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在红点处 我们简单地
07:26
and gave people a reason原因 to act法案 now.
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告诉人们一个今天就行动的理由。
07:28
The white白色 dots are comparisons对比, nothing changed.
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白点处是作为对比,什么也没变
07:31
So we make it easy简单 by organizing组织
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我们简单地组织
07:33
this monthly每月一次 camp where people can
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每月营地,在这里人们可以
07:35
get their kids孩子 immunized免疫.
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让孩子得到免疫
07:37
And then you make it easy简单
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然后你就简单地
07:39
and give a reason原因 to act法案 now
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告诉人们一个今天就行动的理由
07:41
by adding加入 a kilo公斤 of lentils扁豆 for each immunization免疫接种.
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通过给每次免疫一公斤扁豆的补助
07:44
Now, a kilo公斤 of lentils扁豆 is tiny.
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现在 一公斤扁豆真是微不足道。
07:47
It's never going to convince说服 anybody任何人
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你永远也不会说服任何人
07:49
to do something that they don't want to do.
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去做他们不想做的事。
07:51
On the other hand, if your problem问题 is you tend趋向 to postpone推迟,
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另一方面 如果你的问题是你老是拖延,
07:54
then it might威力 give you a reason原因 to act法案 today今天
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那就给你个今天就行动的理由
07:56
rather than later后来.
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而不是以后再去做
07:58
So what do we find?
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那么我们发现了什么?
08:00
Well, beforehand预先, everything is the same相同.
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起初 一切如故
08:02
That's the beauty美女 of randomization随机.
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这就是随机试验的好处
08:04
Afterwards之后,
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后来
08:06
the camp -- just having the camp --
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这些营地 仅仅是每月营地
08:08
increases增加 immunization免疫接种 from six percent百分 to 17 percent百分.
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将免疫率从6%增长到17%
08:10
That's full充分 immunization免疫接种.
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是指完全免疫
08:12
That's not bad, that's a good improvement起色.
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还不错,很大的进步
08:14
Add the lentils扁豆 and you reach达到 to 38 percent百分.
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加了扁豆后 数字达到了38%
08:17
So here you've got your answer回答.
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现在你就知道答案了
08:19
Make it easy简单 and give a kilo公斤 of lentils扁豆,
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简单点 给一公斤扁豆
08:21
you multiply immunization免疫接种 rate by six.
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就将免疫率乘以6
08:24
Now, you might威力 say, "Well, but it's not sustainable可持续发展.
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现在 你会说 ”很好,可这是不可持续的
08:26
We cannot不能 keep giving lentils扁豆 to people."
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我们不能总是给扁豆”
08:28
Well, it turns out it's wrong错误 economics经济学,
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结果是 这是错误的经济学
08:30
because it is cheaper便宜
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因为给扁豆
08:32
to give lentils扁豆 than not to give them.
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比不给扁豆要便宜
08:34
Since以来 you have to pay工资 for the nurse护士 anyway无论如何,
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既然 你总是要为护士付费
08:36
the cost成本 per immunization免疫接种
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每次免疫费用
08:38
ends结束 up being存在 cheaper便宜 if you give incentives奖励 than if you don't.
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最终是给激励时比不给时要便宜
08:42
How about bed nets?
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蚊帐又该如何?
08:44
Should you give them for free自由, or should you ask people to pay工资 for them?
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你是免费发放 还是让人们付费?
08:47
So the answer回答 hinges铰链
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答案取决于
08:49
on the answer回答 to three simple简单 questions问题.
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三个简单问题的答案
08:51
One is: If people must必须 pay工资 for a bed net,
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第一个问题是如果人们必须为蚊帐付费
08:54
are they going to purchase采购 them?
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他们还会买吗?
08:56
The second第二 one is:
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第二个问题是
08:58
If I give bed nets for free自由,
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如果蚊帐是免费的
09:00
are people going to use them?
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人们还会用吗?
09:02
And the third第三 one is:
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第三个问题是
09:04
Do free自由 bed nets discourage不鼓励 future未来 purchase采购?
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免费蚊帐会导致日后不再购买蚊帐吗?
09:06
The third第三 one is important重要
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第三个问题很重要
09:08
because if we think people get used to handouts讲义,
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因为 如果我们认为人们习惯了救济后
09:11
it might威力 destroy破坏 markets市场 to distribute分发 free自由 bed nets.
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将会破坏发放免费蚊帐的市场
09:14
Now this is a debate辩论 that has generated产生
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现在 这个争论已经
09:16
a lot of emotion情感 and angry愤怒 rhetoric修辞.
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带来了很多感情和愤怒的言辞。
09:19
It's more ideological思想 than practical实际的,
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这更理想主义而非实用主义,
09:21
but it turns out it's an easy简单 question.
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但又回答了一个简单的问题。
09:23
We can know the answer回答 to this question.
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我们可以知道问题的答案
09:25
We can just run an experiment实验.
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我们只要做下试验
09:27
And many许多 experiments实验 have been run, and they all have the same相同 results结果,
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很多试验 都有相同的结果
09:29
so I'm just going to talk to you about one.
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接下来 我会给你们讲一个
09:32
And this one that was in Kenya肯尼亚,
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这个试验是在肯尼亚做的
09:34
they went around and distributed分散式 to people
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他们到处走动 分发给村民
09:36
vouchers, discount折扣 vouchers.
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优惠券 折扣券
09:38
So people with their voucher凭证
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然后 人们用优惠券
09:40
could get the bed net in the local本地 pharmacy药店.
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可以在当地的要点买到蚊帐
09:42
And some people get 100 percent百分 discount折扣,
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有些人得到100%折扣
09:45
and some people get 20 percent百分 discounts折扣,
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有些是20%折扣
09:47
and some people get 50 percent百分 discount折扣, etc等等.
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有些事50%折扣 等等
09:50
And now we can see what happens发生.
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现在我们可以看看发生了什么
09:52
So, how about the purchasing购买?
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若是要购买会如何
09:54
Well, what you can see is that
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你可以看到
09:56
when people have to pay工资 for their bed nets,
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当人们不得不为蚊帐付费时
09:58
the coverage覆盖 rate really falls下降 down a lot.
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蚊帐覆盖率大幅下降
10:01
So even with partial局部 subsidy补贴,
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即使有部分补助-
10:03
three dollars美元 is still not the full充分 cost成本 of a bed net,
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3美元依然不是蚊帐的完全花费
10:06
and now you only have 20 percent百分 of the people with the bed nets,
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现在你只有20%的人拥有蚊帐
10:08
you lose失去 the health健康 immunity免疫, that's not great.
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你失去了[覆盖率] 那样不好
10:11
Second第二 thing is, how about the use?
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第二件事是 年轻人会如何
10:13
Well, the good news新闻 is, people, if they have the bed nets,
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好消息是 当人们拥有蚊帐时
10:15
will use the bed nets regardless而不管 of how they got it.
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他们会使用蚊帐 不管蚊帐是如何得到的
10:18
If they get it for free自由, they use it.
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他们免费得到蚊帐 会使用
10:20
If they have to pay工资 for it, they use it.
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他们付费得到蚊帐 也会使用
10:22
How about the long term术语?
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长期情况如何呢?
10:24
In the long term术语,
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长远看来
10:26
people who got the free自由 bed nets,
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得到免费蚊帐的人们
10:28
one year later后来, were offered提供 the option选项
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一年后 面临花两美元
10:30
to purchase采购 a bed net at two dollars美元.
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买一个蚊帐的选择
10:33
And people who got the free自由 one
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免费获得蚊帐的人们
10:35
were actually其实 more likely容易 to purchase采购 the second第二 one
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实际上更可能买第二个蚊帐
10:38
than people who didn't get a free自由 one.
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相比没得到免费蚊帐的人而言
10:40
So people do not get used to handouts讲义; they get used to nets.
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所以 人们没有习惯于救济 而是习惯于蚊帐!
10:43
Maybe we need to give them a little bit more credit信用.
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或许我们应该更相信他们
10:48
So, that's for bed nets. So you will think, "That's great.
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那些就是关于蚊帐的 你会想“太好了
10:50
You know how to immunize免疫 kids孩子, you know how to give bed nets."
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你知道怎样免疫 你知道怎样发放蚊帐”
10:53
But what politicians政治家 need is a range范围 of options选项.
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但是政客们需要的是一组选择
10:56
They need to know: Out of all the things I could do,
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他们需要知道: 在所有这些我能做的事当中
10:59
what is the best最好 way to achieve实现 my goals目标?
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哪一个是能最好地实现目标的方式?
11:02
So suppose假设 your goal目标 is to get kids孩子 into school学校.
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假如你的目标是让孩子们上学
11:05
There are so many许多 things you could do. You could pay工资 for uniforms制服,
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有这么多事可做 你可以为制服买单
11:08
you could eliminate消除 fees费用, you could build建立 latrines厕所,
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你可以降低费用 你可以建造公厕
11:10
you could give girls女孩 sanitary卫浴 pads, etc等等., etc等等.
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你可以给女孩提供卫生垫 等等
11:13
So what's the best最好?
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那么最好的是什么?
11:15
Well, at some level水平, we think
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某种程度上而言 我们认为
11:17
all of these things should work.
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所有这些事都该做
11:19
So, is that sufficient足够? If we think they should work intuitively直观地,
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那么 这些足够吗? 比如, 假如我们凭直觉认为这些应该有效
11:21
should we go for them?
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我们应该去做这些事吗?
11:23
Well, in business商业, that's certainly当然 not the way we would go about it.
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在商业里 这显然不是我们做事的方式
11:27
Consider考虑 for example
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考虑下这个例子
11:29
transporting传输 goods产品.
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运输货物
11:31
Before the canals运河 were invented发明
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在运河被发明之前
11:33
in Britain英国 before the Industrial产业 Revolution革命,
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英国在工业革命前
11:36
goods产品 used to go on horse carts.
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货物是通过马车运输
11:38
And then canals运河 were built内置,
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接着运河被修建后
11:40
and with the same相同 horseman骑手 and the same相同 horse,
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用同样的马夫和同样的马匹
11:43
you could carry携带 ten times as much cargo货物.
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你可以运输十倍于之前的货物
11:46
So should they have continued继续
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那么 他们应该继续
11:48
to carry携带 the goods产品 on the horse carts, on the ground地面,
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用马车在路上运输货物吗?
11:51
that they would eventually终于 get there?
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反正他们最终总是能到达目的地
11:53
Well, if that had been the case案件,
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如果 现实是这样
11:55
there would have been no Industrial产业 Revolution革命.
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就不会发生工业革命
11:57
So why shouldn't不能 we do the same相同 with social社会 policy政策?
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那么 为什么我们不应以同样方式来制定社会政策?
12:00
In technology技术, we spend so much time
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在科技领域 我们花费了大量时间
12:02
experimenting试验, fine-tuning微调,
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做实验 调节
12:04
getting得到 the absolute绝对 cheapest最便宜 way to do something,
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获得绝对最便宜的方式去做某事
12:06
so why aren't we doing that with social社会 policy政策?
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那么 为什么我们没有以同样方式来制定社会政策?
12:09
Well, with experiments实验, what you can do
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通过做实验 你可以做到的是
12:11
is answer回答 a simple简单 question.
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回答一个简单的问题
12:13
Suppose假设 you have 100 dollars美元 to spend
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假如你有100美元
12:15
on various各个 interventions干预措施.
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可以用于各种干预措施
12:17
How many许多 extra额外 years年份 of education教育
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用你的几百美元
12:19
do you get for your hundred dollars美元?
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可以得到多少年额外的教育?
12:21
Now I'm going to show显示 you
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现在我会告诉你
12:23
what we get with various各个 education教育 interventions干预措施.
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各种教育干预能带来什么
12:27
So the first ones那些 are if you want the usual通常 suspects犯罪嫌疑人,
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最先的答案 是一些普遍的假设:
12:29
hire聘请 teachers教师, school学校 meals,
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请老师 学校午餐
12:31
school学校 uniforms制服, scholarships奖学金.
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学校制服 奖学金
12:33
And that's not bad. For your hundred dollars美元,
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这都不错 用你的一百美金
12:35
you get between之间 one and three extra额外 years年份 of education教育.
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你可以得到一到三年的额外教育
12:39
Things that don't work so well is bribing贿赂 parents父母,
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不太好的事是贿赂家长
12:41
just because so many许多 kids孩子 are already已经 going to school学校
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仅仅因为很多孩子已经开始上学
12:44
that you end结束 up spending开支 a lot of money.
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你终止了花费大量金钱
12:46
And here are the most surprising奇怪 results结果.
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这儿是最让人惊讶的结果
12:49
Tell people the benefits好处 of education教育,
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告诉人们教育的益处
12:52
that's very cheap低廉 to do.
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这佯做很便宜
12:54
So for every一切 hundred dollars美元 you spend doing that,
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你花费在这件事的每一百美元
12:57
you get 40 extra额外 years年份 of education教育.
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你将得到40年额外教育
13:00
And, in places地方 where there are worms蠕虫,
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在那些有寄生虫的地方
13:02
intestinal worms蠕虫,
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蛔虫
13:04
cure治愈 the kids孩子 of their worms蠕虫.
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治疗有蛔虫的小孩
13:06
And for every一切 hundred dollars美元,
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用每一百美元
13:08
you get almost几乎 30 extra额外 years年份 of education教育.
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你将得到几乎30年的额外教育
13:11
So this is not your intuition直觉,
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这不复合你的直觉
13:13
this is not what people would have gone走了 for,
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这不是人们希望的
13:15
and yet然而, these are the programs程式 that work.
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然而 这些项目很有效
13:18
We need that kind of information信息, we need more of it,
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我们需要那样的信息 我们需要更多
13:20
and then we need to guide指南 policy政策.
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然后 我们需要引导政策
13:24
So now, I started开始 from the big problem问题, and I couldn't不能 answer回答 it.
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好的 我是从那个大问题开始的 我不能回答它
13:27
And I cut it into smaller questions问题,
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然后 我将它分为几个小问题
13:30
and I have the answer回答 to these smaller questions问题.
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而我能回答这些小问题
13:32
And they are good, scientific科学, robust强大的 answers答案.
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这些回答是很好的、科学的、有力的回答
13:36
So let's go back to Haiti海地 for a moment时刻.
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我们回过头来谈谈海地
13:39
In Haiti海地, about 200,000 people died死亡 --
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在海地 大约20万人丧身
13:43
actually其实, a bit more by the latest最新 estimate估计.
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事实上 最新的估计比这个数字还要多
13:45
And the response响应 of the world世界 was great:
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世界的反应时强烈的
13:47
Two billion十亿 dollars美元 got pledged承诺 just last month,
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过去一个月 募集了20亿美元
13:51
so that's about 10,000 dollars美元 per death死亡.
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大约是 每一个死亡1万美元
13:53
That doesn't sound声音 like that much when you think about it.
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你仔细想想 其实这并不像听起来那么多
13:56
But if we were willing愿意 to spend 10,000 dollars美元
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但是 如果我们愿意为每个去世的小于5岁的孩子
13:59
for every一切 child儿童 under five who dies,
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花费1万美元
14:02
that would be 90 billion十亿 per year
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那将是每年900美元
14:05
just for that problem问题.
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仅仅是为那个问题
14:07
And yet然而 it doesn't happen发生.
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然而 这并没有发生
14:09
So, why is that?
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那 这是为什么呢?
14:11
Well, I think what part部分 of the problem问题 is that,
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我认为部分问题在于
14:13
in Haiti海地, although虽然 the problem问题 is huge巨大,
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尽管海地的问题很大
14:15
somehow不知何故 we understand理解 it, it's localized本地化.
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可是我们总能懂一些 我们就能定位问题
14:17
You give your money to Doctors医生 Without没有 Borders国界,
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你捐钱给无国界医生组织
14:19
you give your money to Partners伙伴 In Health健康,
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你捐钱给健康伙伴组织(Partners in Health)
14:21
and they'll他们会 send发送 in the doctors医生, and they'll他们会 send发送 in the lumber木料,
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他们会送医生过去 他们会送物品过去
14:24
and they'll他们会 helicopter直升机 things out and in.
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他们会用直升飞机运东西进进出出
14:27
And the problem问题 of poverty贫穷 is not like that.
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但是贫困的问题并非如此
14:29
So, first, it's mostly大多 invisible无形;
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首先 它通常是看不见的
14:31
second第二, it's huge巨大;
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其次 它是很严重的
14:33
and third第三, we don't know whether是否 we are doing the right thing.
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最后 我们不清楚我们所做的是否正确
14:36
There's no silver bullet子弹.
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没有任何绝招可用
14:38
You cannot不能 helicopter直升机 people out of poverty贫穷.
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你不能用直升飞机将人们从贫困中运出
14:40
And that's very frustrating泄气.
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这真是让人沮丧
14:42
But look what we just did today今天.
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但是看看我们今天所做的
14:45
I gave you three simple简单 answers答案 to three questions问题:
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我给你们三个问题的三个简单答案
14:48
Give lentils扁豆 to immunize免疫 people,
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让免疫[更便利]
14:50
provide提供 free自由 bed nets, deworm除虫 children孩子.
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提供免费蚊帐 给孩子打蛔虫
14:52
With immunization免疫接种 or bed nets,
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通过免疫或者蚊帐
14:54
you can save保存 a life for 300 dollars美元 per life saved保存.
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你可以用300美元拯救一条生命
14:57
With deworming驱虫, you can get
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通过打蛔虫 你可以用300美元
14:59
an extra额外 year of education教育 for three dollars美元.
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得到一年额外的教育
15:02
So we cannot不能 eradicate根除 poverty贫穷 just yet然而,
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我们不能立刻消除贫困
15:05
but we can get started开始.
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但是我们可以开始行动
15:07
And maybe we can get started开始 small
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或许我们能以那些
15:09
with things that we know are effective有效.
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我们知道是有效的方式开始
15:12
Here's这里的 an example of how this can be powerful强大.
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这个例子告诉我们这样做多么强有力
15:14
Deworming驱虫.
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打蛔虫
15:16
Worms蠕虫 have a little bit of a problem问题 grabbing the headlines新闻头条.
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蛔虫不会引起新闻头条的一丝主义
15:18
They are not beautiful美丽 and don't kill anybody任何人.
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他们不漂亮 他们不杀死人
15:21
And yet然而, when the young年轻 global全球 leader领导 in Davos达沃斯
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然而 当年轻的全球领袖 在达沃斯
15:23
showed显示 the numbers数字 I gave you,
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展示这些我告诉你们的数字时
15:25
they started开始 Deworm除虫 the World世界.
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他们开始了”世界除虫“行动
15:27
And thanks谢谢 to Deworm除虫 the World世界,
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幸亏有这个世界除虫行动
15:29
and the effort功夫 of many许多 country国家 governments政府 and foundations基金会,
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以及很多国家政府和基金会的努力
15:31
20 million百万 school-aged学龄 children孩子 got dewormed驱虫 in 2009.
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2009年有2千万学龄儿童得到除虫
15:34
So this evidence证据 is powerful强大.
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这个证据是强有力的
15:36
It can prompt提示 action行动.
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它能推动行动
15:38
So we should get started开始 now.
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我们现在就应开始行动
15:40
It's not going to be easy简单.
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现在 这不是件容易的事
15:42
It's a very slow process处理.
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这是很漫长的过程
15:44
You have to keep experimenting试验, and sometimes有时 ideology思想
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你必须坚持试验 有时候
15:46
has to be trumped莫须有 by practicality实际性.
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必须用实用性来鼓吹想法
15:48
And sometimes有时 what works作品 somewhere某处 doesn't work elsewhere别处.
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有时候 在此地有效的方式在彼处失效
15:51
So it's a slow process处理,
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这是很漫长的过程
15:53
but there is no other way.
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但是有其他放肆
15:55
These economics经济学 I'm proposing建议,
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我所建议的经济学
15:57
it's like 20th century世纪 medicine医学.
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就像20实际的药物
15:59
It's a slow, deliberative审议 process处理
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这是一个漫长,很慎重
16:01
of discovery发现.
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发现过程
16:03
There is no miracle奇迹 cure治愈,
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没有魔法疗法
16:05
but modern现代 medicine医学 is saving保存
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但是现代药物
16:07
millions百万 of lives生活 every一切 year,
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每年都在挽救数以百万计的生命
16:09
and we can do the same相同 thing.
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而我们可以做到同样的事
16:13
And now, maybe, we can go back to the bigger question
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现在 或许我们能回归到那个
16:16
that I started开始 with at the beginning开始.
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我一开始就提出的大问题
16:19
I cannot不能 tell you
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我不能告诉你
16:21
whether是否 the aid援助 we have spent花费 in the past过去 has made制作 a difference区别,
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过去的援助花费是否起了作用
16:24
but can we come back here in 30 years年份
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但是 30年后我们可以回到这里
16:27
and say, "What we have doneDONE,
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然后说 ”我们所做的一切
16:30
it really prompted提示 a change更改 for the better."
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真的促进了事情往好的方向改变“
16:33
I believe we can and I hope希望 we will.
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我相信我们可以做到 我希望我们能够做到
16:35
Thank you.
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谢谢
16:37
(Applause掌声)
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(掌声)
Translated by Jason Hsiang
Reviewed by Chunlei Chang

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Esther Duflo - Development economist
Esther Duflo takes economics out of the lab and into the field to discover the causes of poverty and means to eradicate it.

Why you should listen

2009 MacArthur fellow Esther Duflo is pushing the field of development economics by studying specific causal relationships that lead to or perpetuate poverty. She looks at close-to-home issues: household behavior, education, access to finance and health.

At MIT, she's the founder and director of the Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL), a research network that evaluates social programs. It's concerned less with wide-ranging policy than with specific questions. Sample: If schoolkids could get their uniforms for free, would attendance go up? What's an effective way to reward mothers for immunizing their babies? Randomized trials offer new insights toward creating global equity and prosperity. Her work may blur the lines between economics and activism, but it's a role Duflo not only considers comfortable but vital.

Her new book is Poor Economics, with Abhijit W. Banerjee. 

More profile about the speaker
Esther Duflo | Speaker | TED.com

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