Yet many transactions require a lot more support than that. Modern transaction infrastructure includes the legal system, credit registries, Visa and corporate accounts. Buying shares may not seem very sophisticated, for instance, but when you buy a share you are lending money in exchange for a claim on the future profitability of a firm in, say, China.
要想使這種日常金融交易成為可能，會(huì)計(jì)師、監(jiān)管者、經(jīng)紀(jì)商和律師階層必不可少。
This everyday financial transaction requires layers of accountants, regulators, brokers and lawyers to make it possible.
經(jīng)濟(jì)的進(jìn)步，很大程度上就是降低交易成本，使更為先進(jìn)復(fù)雜的交易成為可能。盡管交易成本有所降低，但它給現(xiàn)代經(jīng)濟(jì)造成了前所未有的消耗。約翰o沃利斯(John Wallis)和諾貝爾經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)獎(jiǎng)得主道格拉斯o諾斯(Douglass North)曾經(jīng)試圖通過(guò)考察會(huì)計(jì)、法律、零售、管理和警察等行業(yè)的規(guī)模，來(lái)衡量總交易成本。他們發(fā)現(xiàn)，在1870年至1970年間，具有交易成本的行業(yè)在美國(guó)經(jīng)濟(jì)中所占比重已經(jīng)從逾四分之一上升到略高于50％，提高了一倍。交易成本并不低廉，但由于我們?cè)?970年比1870年富裕得多，因此，所有這些支出似乎都值得。
Much economic progress consists of reducing transaction costs to allow more sophisticated transactions to take place. Although transaction costs have fallen, modern economies are ever more consumed by them. John Wallis and Nobel laureate economist Douglass North once tried to tot up transaction costs by looking at the size of sectors such as accountancy, law, retail, management, policing and so on. They found that the transaction-cost sector doubled its share of the US economy, from just over a quarter in 1870 to just over half in 1970. Transactions don't come cheap, but since we were much richer in 1970 than in 1870, all this spending seems to have been worth it.
這一點(diǎn)值得記住。交易成本似乎通常意味著浪費(fèi)、混亂或者官僚主義，但如果沒(méi)有那些律師、會(huì)計(jì)師、秘書(shū)和銷(xiāo)售人員，就沒(méi)有現(xiàn)代經(jīng)濟(jì)。希望所有的交易成本都能像阿斯米爾花市或者筑地魚(yú)市場(chǎng)那樣，成為令人心動(dòng)的一景。
That is worth remembering. Transaction costs often seem like waste, chaos or bureaucracy, but without all those lawyers, accountants, secretaries and sales staff, a modern economy would be impossible. If only all transaction costs could be as thrilling a spectacle as Aalsmeer or Tsukiji.
要想使這種日常金融交易成為可能，會(huì)計(jì)師、監(jiān)管者、經(jīng)紀(jì)商和律師階層必不可少。
This everyday financial transaction requires layers of accountants, regulators, brokers and lawyers to make it possible.
經(jīng)濟(jì)的進(jìn)步，很大程度上就是降低交易成本，使更為先進(jìn)復(fù)雜的交易成為可能。盡管交易成本有所降低，但它給現(xiàn)代經(jīng)濟(jì)造成了前所未有的消耗。約翰o沃利斯(John Wallis)和諾貝爾經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)獎(jiǎng)得主道格拉斯o諾斯(Douglass North)曾經(jīng)試圖通過(guò)考察會(huì)計(jì)、法律、零售、管理和警察等行業(yè)的規(guī)模，來(lái)衡量總交易成本。他們發(fā)現(xiàn)，在1870年至1970年間，具有交易成本的行業(yè)在美國(guó)經(jīng)濟(jì)中所占比重已經(jīng)從逾四分之一上升到略高于50％，提高了一倍。交易成本并不低廉，但由于我們?cè)?970年比1870年富裕得多，因此，所有這些支出似乎都值得。
Much economic progress consists of reducing transaction costs to allow more sophisticated transactions to take place. Although transaction costs have fallen, modern economies are ever more consumed by them. John Wallis and Nobel laureate economist Douglass North once tried to tot up transaction costs by looking at the size of sectors such as accountancy, law, retail, management, policing and so on. They found that the transaction-cost sector doubled its share of the US economy, from just over a quarter in 1870 to just over half in 1970. Transactions don't come cheap, but since we were much richer in 1970 than in 1870, all this spending seems to have been worth it.
這一點(diǎn)值得記住。交易成本似乎通常意味著浪費(fèi)、混亂或者官僚主義，但如果沒(méi)有那些律師、會(huì)計(jì)師、秘書(shū)和銷(xiāo)售人員，就沒(méi)有現(xiàn)代經(jīng)濟(jì)。希望所有的交易成本都能像阿斯米爾花市或者筑地魚(yú)市場(chǎng)那樣，成為令人心動(dòng)的一景。
That is worth remembering. Transaction costs often seem like waste, chaos or bureaucracy, but without all those lawyers, accountants, secretaries and sales staff, a modern economy would be impossible. If only all transaction costs could be as thrilling a spectacle as Aalsmeer or Tsukiji.