World Economy

Упражнение 1. Прочитайте текст вслух вслед за преподавателем с от­ставанием в три-четыре слова.

Global economic integration is not a new phenomenon. Some communi­cation and trade took place between distant civilisations even in ancient times. Since the travels of Marco Polo seven centuries ago, global economic integration - through trade, factor movements, and communication of eco­nomically useful knowledge and technology - has been on a generally rising trend. This process of globalisation in the economic domain has not always proceeded smoothly. Nor has it always benefited all whom it has affected. But, despite occasional interruptions, such as following the collapse of the Roman Empire or during the interwar period in this century, the degree of economic integration among different societies around the world has gener­ally been rising. Indeed, during the past half century, the pace of economic globalisation has been particularly rapid. And, with the exception of human migration, global economic integration today is greater than it ever has been and is likely to deepen going forward.

Three fundamental factors have affected the process of economic global­isation. First, improvements in the technology of transportation and commu­nication have reduced the costs of transporting goods, services, and factors of production and of communicating economically useful knowledge and technology. Second, the tastes of individuals and societies have generally favoured taking advantage of the opportunities provided by declining costs of transportation and communication through increasing economic integra­tion.Third, public policies have significantly influenced the character and pace of economic integration.

Evidence suggests that in the future the process of global economic integration will take place through voluntary means. People around the world will decide to participate because they see the benefit to them of such participation. Participation in the global economy will not occur at the point of a sword or facing the muzzle of a gun. This provides the reasonable assurance that the fundamental forces that are driv­ing global economic integration are, in fact, driving the world toward a better economic future.

Упражнение 2. Переведите письменно на русский язык текст упражне­ния 1, используя при необходимости словарь.

Упражнение 3. Переведите синхронно текст упражнения 1, опираясь на письменный перевод,

Упражнение 4. Переведите на слух на русский язык по абзацам сле­дующие сообщения.

1. Although technology, tastes, and public policy each have important independent influences on the pattern and pace of economic integration in its various dimensions, they clearly interact in important ways. Improve­ments in the technology of transportation and communication do not occur spontaneously in an economic vacuum. The desire of people to take ad­vantage of what they see as the benefits of closer economic integration is a key reason why it is profitable to make the innovations and investments that bring improvements in the technology of transportation and communi­cation.

2. The phenomenon of back-and-forth movement suggests that by no later than the early part of the twentieth century, the costs and risks of trans­portation had fallen to the point that they were no longer a substantial factor in economic decisions about migration. Also, this reduction in transportation costs probably interacted with tastes in a way that enhanced the likelihood of migration.

3. Traditionally, economists tend to focus on trade in goods and, to a lesser extent, services as the key mechanism for integrating economic ac­tivities across countries and as a critical channel for transmitting distur­bances between national economies. Indeed, in the economic theory of international trade, trade in goods is seen as a substitute for mobility of factors of production. Under certain restricted conditions trade in the out­puts of production processes may be an essentially perfect substitute for mobility of factors.

4. Since World War II, the world economy has enjoyed a remarkable era of prosperity that has spread quite broadly, but not universally, across the globe. Over the past five decades, real world GDP has risen at somewhat more than a four percent annual rate. The volume of world trade in goods and services rose from barely one-tenth of world GDP in 1950 to about one-third of world GDP in 2000. By this measure there has indeed been an in­crease in the degree of global economic integration through trade in goods and services during the past half century.

Упражнение 5. Прочитайте следующие заголовки статей. Выскажите предположения относительно содержания этих статей.

a. Trading Blocs and the Trading System: The Services Dimension.

b. Exchange Rate Regimes and the Real Exchange Rate.

с Indirect Taxation in an Integrated Europe: Is There a Way of Avoiding Trade Distortions without Sacrificing National Tax Autonomy?

d. Foreign Capital Inflow with Public Input Production.

e. Friends, Enemies, and Factor Diversification: Implications for Protec­tionist Pressures.

Упражнение 6* Ознакомьтесь со следующими английскими устойчивы­ми полилексемными образованиями. Самостоятельно подберите их русские эквиваленты и составьте мини-словарь. Выучите их наизусть.

Thank you for the invitation to talk to you...

The title of my talk is...

My preference would have been to talk about...

I have to devote the bulk of my talk to...

My defence for getting into the fight is...

I hope there will be time at the end to discuss the far more important is­sues of...

In the very unlikely event that you haven't heard of us, let me just say that...

And for the few among you who may not heard of [smb] he is a noted..,

[Smb] has recently written a book called...

Despite its general title, the book is mostly about...

[Smb] said in his review that a more accurate title for the book would have been...

That's my bottom-line message: You can't judge a book by its cover.

Let me begin with critique of...

What is probably true is that...

One criticism is that...

The critics find the allegation that...

The critics say that...

[Smb] deserves his share of the blame, but so do many others.

As [smb] noted in his review,...

I also take strong exception to the portrayal of...

OK, enough of the food-fight.

Let me shift to a more positive tone and acknowledge the validity of some of the criticisms...

As I noted earlier, [smth] has two main tasks.

It's useful to recall a bit of history first.

There is no denying that...

But while characterisation of... is broadly correct, it is inaccurate in many important details.

As anyone will tell you, battlefield medicine is never perfect.

We were surprised by...

The experience revealed...,

Our most glaring error, according to many observers, was to...

There is another, more technical, debate about which there is still no meeting of the minds between... This debate has to do with...

Others have taken similar positions.

The experience of... suggests that...

With respect to our other main task...

As promised, let me finish with a brief discussion of...

While there are no easy answers, one concrete step could be taken to help the situation considerably... Let me end on that note of harmony.

Упражнение 7. Подготовьте пятиминутное выступление по экономиче­ской проблематике, используя материал упражнения 6. Попросите вашего кол­легу выступить в качестве вашего переводчика.

Упражнение 8. Прочитайте вслух следующие аннотации научных ста­тей. Соотнесите их с заголовками, приведенными в упражнении 5. Переведите с листа на русский язык следующие аннотации.

1. This paper examines the relationship between changes in commodity prices and changes in factor prices when individuals can diversify their fac­tor ownership portfolios. In a closed economy, it is always possible to find a distribution of factor ownership which makes everyone indifferent to any small, exogenous price change and which satisfies the conditions for full employment of each factor. Such a distribution of factor ownership would dissipate interest in any price change since it would leave everyone's real income unchanged. In an open economy, it may not be possible to find such a distribution of factor ownership.

2. It is well established now that the nominal exchange rate regime has important implications for the behaviour of real exchange rates. Two key stylised facts in this regard are that real exchange rate variability is greater under flexible exchange rates than under fixed exchange rates and that real and nominal exchange rate movements are positively related under flexible exchange rates. One class of models that are consistent with these observa­tions are sticky price models. This paper constructs an equilibrium model of real and nominal exchange rate determination that is capable of explain­ing these observed facts without resorting to differences in other policies across regimes. The paper thus shows that there is an inherent tendency, due solely to the difference in monetary adjustment mechanisms across al­ternative exchange rate regimes, for real exchange rates to exhibit greater variability under flexible exchange rates and this tendency turns out to be compatible with the observed positive correlation between real and nominal exchange rates. The model relies on the inflation tax mechanism and the impact of temporary, country-specific shocks to generate these results.

3. This paper explores the relationship between regional and multilateral agreements to liberalise trade in services. Following a conceptual discussion of the political economy of regional as opposed to multilateral negotiations, existing data on trade and investment flows are analysed with a view to gaining some insight into the likely interest group preferences regarding al­ternative institutional arrangements to liberalise trade in services. Concep­tual considerations and available data suggest a preference for regional lib­eralisation. But available data and a comparison of the content of the major existing agreements also suggest that regional and multilateral approaches are more likely to be considered by service industries and regulators to be complements than substitutes.

4. This paper develops a general equilibrium trade model of a less de­veloped country, facing imperfect international capital mobility, and produc­ing a public input. Within this framework, the paper examines the welfare effects of an inflow of foreign capital when the government finances the provision of the public input either by taxing the return to foreign capital, or by imposing a tariff on the imported good. Using the gross domestic product function with public input production, the paper shows that in the presence of a tariff, the inflow of foreign capital may increase the country's welfare, even if the imported good is capital intensive, and in the presence of capital taxes, the inflow of foreign capital may decrease the country's welfare. The paper examines also within the two-good, two-factor model the effect of a capital inflow on factors rewards.

5. The paper discusses the main arguments for destination- versus ori­gin-based commodity taxation in the European Community's Internal Mar­ket. Destination-based solutions distort commodity trade in the Community because cross-border purchases by final consumers can only be taxed in the origin country. On the other hand, an origin-based general consumption tax is neutral in a European context and it can be combined with destination-based taxation in third countries in a non-distortionary way. Furthermore, it is shown that the introduction of capital mobility does not affect the neutral­ity of an origin-based consumption tax. Finally, the paper addresses the ad­ministrative and political implications of a switch to the origin principle in the European Community.

Упражнение 9. Выберите одну из тем статей, представленных в упраж­нении 5. Напишите на английском языке собственную мини-статью (объемом четыре-пять машинописных страниц), развивая положения выбранной статьи из упражнения 8. Представьте мини-статью для обсуждения и перевода в классе.

Упражнение 10. После неоднократного прослушивания восстановите первоначальный порядок абзацев в следующем тексте. Письменно передайте содержание текста на русском языке как можно ближе к оригиналу без опоры на исходный текст.

(...) The inflation outlook in the baseline was more of a concern, mainly because of a renewed spurt in headline inflation and stubbornly high core inflation at the beginning of the year. Although attributable in good part to one-off weather, energy, and euro changeover effects, the ac­celeration also coincided with wage pressures, increases in inflationary expectations, and supportive monetary conditions. In this environment, in­flation was expected to recede only slowly to just below two percent next year.

(...) Overall, absent a stronger global recovery, recent developments suggest that growth this year may be somewhat weaker than expected. Moreover, uncertainty and downside risks have increased looking forward. However, barring significantly more pronounced shocks than we have seen so far, the basic prospect would seem to remain one of an upswing back to potential growth.

(...) While questions remain about the nature of recent inflation shocks and monetary trends, recent developments should assuage concerns on the inflation front at least to some extent. The appreciation of the euro relieves price pressures, particularly as direct pass through of dollar declines to im­port prices for energy and other commodities tends to be quick and substan­tial. Somewhat slower expected growth and increased risks to prospects re­duce the likelihood of domestic inflation pressures.

(...) Until recently, our expectation was that the gradual upturn of eco­nomic activity that began in the first quarter of this year would accelerate toabove potential during the latter half of the year, before settling down close to potential next year. The genesis of this recovery was, as had been the case in the initial stages of past recoveries, a boost from net exports. This was expected to be succeeded fairly quickly by a resumption of domestic de­mand growth.

Упражнение 11. Переведите письменно после неоднократного прослу­шивания следующий текст.

Попытки найти один-единственный обобщающий показатель каче­ства экономики, позволяющий сравнивать уровень жизни в разных странах и в разные периоды истории, закончились тем, что в качестве такового была признана средняя продолжительность жизни человека, то есть не экономический, а демографический показатель. В нем отра­жаются успехи не только в производстве материальных благ, но и в их распределении, перераспределении, даже потреблении, которые могут быть более и менее эффективными с точки зрения влияния на здоровье, на мироощущение, понимание смысла собственной жизни каждого че­ловека. На протяжении всей истории человечества средняя продолжи­тельность жизни увеличивалась, причем особенно быстро в последние века в более развитых экономически странах.

В то же время быстрый рост этого показателя представляет собой угрозу для поддержания-равновесия в макроэкономическом и эколо­гическом кругооборотах, поскольку способствует ускорению роста общей численности населения за счет увеличения разности между показателями рождаемости и смертности. Именно этот фактор спо­собствовал быстрому нарастанию глобальных демографических про­блем в XX в. из-за значительного понижения смертности при сохра­нении высокой рождаемости в странах, которые деликатно именуют развивающимися.

К сожалению, во многих из них как раз резко выросшая демографи­ческая нагрузка из-за «импортированного» снижения детской смертно­сти стала тормозом развития, в том числе экономического, а также привела к росту загрязнения природы отходами жизнедеятельности, сопоставимому с загрязнениями от использования индустриальных технологий в развитых странах.

Упражнение 12. Разделитесь на две группы, одна из которых будет представлять правительство России, а в состав другой группы войдут между­народные эксперты в области экономики. Организуйте переговоры на тему «Место России в мировом экономическом сообществе». Выделите двух пере­водчиков, которые будут по очереди осуществлять двухсторонний перевод и при необходимости помогать друг другу.

Упражнение 13. Переведите устно на русский язык следующие пред­ложения, обращая внимание на употребление сослагательного наклонения.

1. It would be a disaster to try to reverse economic integration in the mid­dle of the road toward one world.

2. If the cost of goods were not comparatively low, it would not be possi­ble to experiment and see whether the tastes were adaptable to the new environment.

3. The advice of international experts was that the government invest heavily in high tech industries.

4. If Franklin D. Roosevelt had not pushed the United States into the New Deal, the nation would still be suffering the Great Depression.

5. If there had been no natural or artificial barriers to trade in goods or services, the relative prices of all goods and services would have been equalised everywhere.

6. The last thing the government of this country can do to improve its eco­nomic situation is to recommend that the parliament should authorise a war against the peaceful neighbour-states.

7. Large corporations treat customers as if they were of no importance to them.

8. I wish the riches of the world were distributed more evenly among na­tions.

9. Were trade shares measured as ratios of international trade of goods to the output of goods production, then those shares would soon have in­creased significantly.

10. If the President listened more attentively to his aids, he would not have ruined his people and his country.

11. The vice-president of the bank submitted a recommendation that the board of directors follow a more flexible policy in the given circumstances.

12. The reforms set out in the mid-term review of the Common Agricultural Policy would significantly ease market distortions if adopted.

Упражнение 14. Преобразуйте письменно следующие предложения, используя сослагательное наклонение (см, образец). Переведите устно на рус­ский язык исходные и трансформированные предложения.

Example:

1. Inflation falls toward an excessively low level. It reduces the risks of getting trapped in a deflationary spiral.

2. Admiral Lord Nelson's establishment of naval supremacy over the French enabled Britain to cut off Napoleon's empire from imports of West Indian sugar. A substitute for cane-based sugar which could be produced within the French Empire was found.

3. Some senior economists at leading departments teach mostly out of arti­cles written in the previous decades, scorning modern literature for its alleged lack of relevance. They view the state of the present economy with fear.

4. During World War II huge defence contracts promoted corporate concen­tration and consolidation in the United States. Big business grew bigger.

5. The classic approach lacks the microfoundations needed for internal consistency. The older literature simply doesn't deal sensibly with many questions that are central to the policy world of today.

6. All the countries of the world are trading extensively. There are virtually no closed economies now.

7. Technology, tastes, and public policy have important independent influ­ences on the pattern and pace of economic integration in its various di­mensions. They clearly interact in important ways.

8. People want to take advantage of the benefits of closer economic integra­tion. It is profitable to make the innovations and investments that bring improvements in the technology of transportation and communication.

9. The active trade carried out for several centuries between Britain and the Bordeaux region of France, was seriously interrupted when one side or the other wished to suppress trade with the enemy. Britain sought to de­velop imports of Portuguese wines.

10. People migrated throughout most of historical time, extending back roughly five thousand years. Human migration remain the predominant mechanism of interaction and integration of different societies.

11. Transportation costs to America reduced before World War I. The deci­sion to migrate became relatively high.

12. The railroad boom opened up new possibilities for quick profits. It helped to corrupt political life.

Упражнение 15. Переведите письменно на английский язык следующие предложения, используя сослагательное наклонение.

1. Если бы каждый человек ежегодно потреблял бы одно благо и вы­делял бы одно антиблаго, это бы привело к экологическому кризи­су, вызванному перепроизводством антиблаг.

2. Если бы представители деловых кругов более ответственно подхо­дили к вопросам экономического развития всего мира, то такие яв­ления как голод и нищета уже давно бы были преодолены.

3. Жаль, что люди не умеют определять последствия принимаемых решений.

4. Представители Международного валютного фонда настаивают, чтобы правительство снизило учетную ставку, а также отказалось бы от финансовых вливаний, направленных на поддержание ва­лютного курса на прежнем уровне.

5. На Вашем месте я бы не спешил обращаться в агентство по трудо­устройству - бурный экономический рост создает невообразимое количество новых возможностей.

6. Необходимо, чтобы в современных теориях, развивающих принцип классического либерализма, единственно реальным экономическим агентом признавался индивид.

7. Если бы традиционная для современной экономики раздвоенность понимания теории поведения индивида и теория фирмы не была преодолена, то принцип максимализации полезности не имел бы сейчас универсального значения.

8. Следует осознать, что фирма возникает как необходимая реакция на дороговизну рыночной координации.

9. Экономисты настаивают на том, что время в масштабах хозяйст­венной деятельности следует рассматривать как неравномерное.

10. Если бы в 1929 г. спекулятивную лихорадку не сопровождал прак­тически нулевой экономический рост, «великую депрессию» мож­но было вполне избежать.

11. Мне бы очень хотелось, чтобы наука действительно стала произво­дительной силой.

12. Если бы каждое поколение, достигшее 45 лет, выбирало из своей среды представителей сроком на 15 лет, то в законодательном ор­гане были бы представлены люди в возрасте от 45 до 60 лет.

Упражнение 16. Изучите следующие слова и словосочетания.

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