West v east in Germany.doc

West v east in Germany 德国：西部控诉东部 A Ruhr deal 鲁尔区很差钱 Poor westerners dont want to hand money to thriving easterners 贫穷的德西人不想再把钱交到蒸蒸日上的德东人手里 CRACKED streets, silent factories, idle workers. Eastern Germany circa 1992? Yes, but also parts of western Germany today. The Graf Bismarck coal mine in Gelsenkirchen, once one of Germanys biggest, closed in 1966. Like many of its neighbours in the Ruhr region, the city has not recovered from the near-extinction of coal and steel production. Its unemployment rate is 14.6%, roughly the same as Irelands. Nearly one-third of its 258,000 inhabitants receive benefits. By 2016 Gelsenkirchen will be deemed “overindebted”, sharply restricting investment. “A city that cant invest goes kaput,” says its spokesman, Martin Schulmann. 破破烂烂的街道，死气沉沉的工厂，游手好闲的工人。 这是大概1992年的东德吗？ 是的，也是今天德国西部部分地区的状况。 位于盖尔森基兴的俾斯麦伯爵煤矿早在1966年就结业，曾是德国最大的煤矿之 一。 正和鲁尔区其他城市一样，这座城市还没从几近灭绝的煤钢产业衰退中喘过气 来。 这里的失业率，几乎和爱尔兰的一样，高企14.6%。 差不多258，000人口中的三分之一居民靠政府福利过活。 在2016年之前，盖尔森基兴将会“负债不堪”，严重破坏投资氛围。 “如果一个城市不能吸引外来投资，那就完蛋了”，城市发言人Martin Schulmann说道。 Meanwhile, eastern Germany sparkles with freshly paved roads, roomy university campuses and lovingly restored town centres. Some 1.3 trillion ($1.7 trillion) has flowed into the east since unification in 1990. Germans in poorer parts of the west think they deserve some of this money. “The need here is much greater,” says Gelsenkirchens mayor, Frank Baranowski. 与此同时，德国东部城市在刚铺就的道路、新落成的大学校园和修葺好的镇区 中熠熠生辉。 自从1990年两德统一以来，大概13000亿欧元资金被注入到东部地区。 但是西部人确认为他们更需要这批钱。 “这里(对资金)的需求更大”，盖尔森基兴市长Frank Baranowski如是说。 The Ruhr has been moaning for decades. But the explosive idea that poor westerners are furnishing luxuries to the east has grabbed national attention and enlivened an election to be held in May in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, where the Ruhr is located. The main target of complaint is “solidarity pact 2”, which is to transfer 156.5 billion to the six eastern states between 2005 and 2019. 鲁尔区的不济已经持续几十年。 但最近认为西部正在奢侈地供应财力给东部的民意很引人注目，不仅引起 全国性关注，还使将在五月进行的北莱因-威斯特法伦(鲁尔区所在地)的选举 热闹起来。 民意不满的焦点在于“团结协议2号”-该协议旨在从2005年到2019年向东部 6州提供1565亿欧元资金。 Gelsenkirchen blames its contribution to the pact for one-third of its 850m debt. Aid should be distributed according to need, not “points on a compass”, say Ruhr mayors. Easterners are fighting back. “People with problems shouldnt bash other people with problems of their own,” says Brandenburgs premier, Matthias Platzeck. 盖尔森基兴抱怨这个协议构成该城市总额8亿5000万欧元中1/3的负债。 鲁尔区的市长们说，救济应该根据需求来分配，而不是罗盘上的方位。 东部城市勃兰登堡市长Matthias Platzeck反驳： 不应该攻击那些与你共患难的人。 The east has made progress, but income per head is still only 70% of that in the west (see chart). Local tax revenues are just 60% of western levels, one justification for the solidarity pact. Convergence has slowed since the 1990s, points out Jutta Gnther of the Halle Institute for Economic Research. Some regions, like “Silicon Saxony” near Dresden, are booming. Others are ageing and emptying. There are few corporate headquarters staffed by well-paid managers. Most eastern firms work on earlier, less lucrative bits of the value chain. 虽然东部经济有在进步，但是人均工资却仍只有西部人的70%（见下表）。 当地税收总额只有西部的六成，这是该协议的一个存在理由。 哈雷经济研究院的Jutta Gnther指出，东部的聚集效应从90年代就放缓了。 部分地区正在兴起，比如靠近硅谷萨克森的德累斯顿。 其他地区则正在经历人口老龄化和人口流失。 很少公司总部会聘请高薪职业经理人打理业务。 多数东部公司都处在价值链的末端，比较薄利的那部分。 The Ruhr grumblers have little hope of grabbing a slice of the solidarity support, which in any case is shrinking and will expire in 2019. But they have ignited a discussion about three interlinked issues. The first is about the wests infrastructure, which looks shabby next to much of the easts. If you account for depreciation, public investment in western infrastructure is negative, notes Klaus-Heiner R?hl of the Cologne Institute for Economic Research. 这些满腹抱怨的鲁尔区市民几乎没什么机会得到团结协议的恩惠，-该协议正 在萎缩且在2019年行将过期。 但是这些民意却引发了三个议题的广泛讨论。 其一，是西部的基础设施建设情况-相比东部的而言西部基建很落后。 来自古龙经济研究所的Klaus-Heiner R?hl说，若考虑上折旧，那么西部的基 建就是负数了。 The second is what principles should govern help for poorer regions. The wasteful “watering-can” approach that sprinkles whole states with cash ought to be ditched along with the compass- point principle, says Mr R?hl. It would be better to target help to cities with high unemployment (rather than merely to poor regions that might be losing population). A few hundred million euros a year would suffice for poor western areas. The debate will be fuelled by the expiration in 2019 of the rules for interstate transfers, under which four resentful rich states subsidise the rest (to the tune of 7.3 billion last year). 其二，在考虑援助东部时，应该以什么为首要原则？ 古龙经济研究所的Klaus-Heiner R?hl说，不但不能用效率不高的洒水器 法去雨泽各州，也不能遵循罗盘定位的原则。 最好是把财政用在那些高失业率城市的刀刃上（而不仅仅限于是那些人口 不断外流的贫困地区）。 对于贫穷的西部城市来说，每年几千万欧元的资金已经满足了。 在2019年这个协议失效之前，这场辩论会一直持续下去。现在4个较富有的州 要资助其余地区，去年这笔资金就达到73亿欧元。 Then there is the question of whether any amount of help can erase regional inequalities. Decades of coal-mining subsidies probably delayed the Ruhrs transformation. Gelsenkirchen is gamely trying new things, and has cut its jobless rate from still-higher levels. The Graf Bismarck land was expensively reclaimed for housing and business investment, but rents are forbiddingly high. Gelsenkirchens solar-energy ambitions took a knock in February when Scheuten Solar, a Dutch owned-company, filed for insolvency. Germany “has to live with the fact that some regions prosper and others are peripheral,” says Ms Gnther. A Ruhr comeback is possible, but still looks decades away. 再一个问题就是：单用财政资助能否解决地区经济发展不平衡？ 对煤矿业几十年的补助拖沓了鲁尔区的转型。 盖尔森基兴采取了进取型的策略，并削减了失业率（虽然依然很高）。 俾斯麦伯爵煤矿场的土地现在被用作住宅和商业用地，租金却扶摇直上。 盖尔森基兴发展太阳能的勃勃野心最近受到挫败：二月份，荷兰的Scheuten 太阳能公司申请了破产。 哈雷经济研究院的Jutta Gnther说，德国“要学会接受的是，繁荣的地区与 次重要的城市共存这个事实”。 鲁尔区的振兴是有可能的，只不过不知还要多少个春秋。 West v east in Germany 德国：西部控诉东部 A Ruhr deal 鲁尔区很差钱 Poor westerners dont want to hand money to thriving easterners 贫穷的德西人不想再把钱交到蒸蒸日上的德东人手里 CRACKED streets, silent factories, idle workers. Eastern Germany circa 1992? Yes, but also parts of western Germany today. The Graf Bismarck coal mine in Gelsenkirchen, once one of Germanys biggest, closed in 1966. Like many of its neighbours in the Ruhr region, the city has not recovered from the near-extinction of coal and steel production. Its unemployment rate is 14.6%, roughly the same as Irelands. Nearly one-third of its 258,000 inhabitants receive benefits. By 2016 Gelsenkirchen will be deemed “overindebted”, sharply restricting investment. “A city that cant invest goes kaput,” says its spokesman, Martin Schulmann. 破破烂烂的街道，死气沉沉的工厂，游手好闲的工人。 这是大概1992年的东德吗？ 是的，也是今天德国西部部分地区的状况。 位于盖尔森基兴的俾斯麦伯爵煤矿早在1966年就结业，曾是德国最大的煤矿之 一。 正和鲁尔区其他城市一样，这座城市还没从几近灭绝的煤钢产业衰退中喘过气 来。 这里的失业率，几乎和爱尔兰的一样，高企14.6%。 差不多258，000人口中的三分之一居民靠政府福利过活。 在2016年之前，盖尔森基兴将会“负债不堪”，严重破坏投资氛围。 “如果一个城市不能吸引外来投资，那就完蛋了”，城市发言人Martin Schulmann说道。 Meanwhile, eastern Germany sparkles with freshly paved roads, roomy university campuses and lovingly restored town centres. Some 1.3 trillion ($1.7 trillion) has flowed into the east since unification in 1990. Germans in poorer parts of the west think they deserve some of this money. “The need here is much greater,” says Gelsenkirchens mayor, Frank Baranowski. 与此同时，德国东部城市在刚铺就的道路、新落成的大学校园和修葺好的镇区 中熠熠生辉。 自从1990年两德统一以来，大概13000亿欧元资金被注入到东部地区。 但是西部人确认为他们更需要这批钱。 “这里(对资金)的需求更大”，盖尔森基兴市长Frank Baranowski如是说。 The Ruhr has been moaning for decades. But the explosive idea that poor westerners are furnishing luxuries to the east has grabbed national attention and enlivened an election to be held in May in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, where the Ruhr is located. The main target of complaint is “solidarity pact 2”, which is to transfer 156.5 billion to the six eastern states between 2005 and 2019. 鲁尔区的不济已经持续几十年。 但最近认为西部正在奢侈地供应财力给东部的民意很引人注目，不仅引起 全国性关注，还使将在五月进行的北莱因-威斯特法伦(鲁尔区所在地)的选举 热闹起来。 民意不满的焦点在于“团结协议2号”-该协议旨在从2005年到2019年向东部 6州提供1565亿欧元资金。 Gelsenkirchen blames its contribution to the pact for one-third of its 850m debt. Aid should be distributed according to need, not “points on a compass”, say Ruhr mayors. Easterners are fighting back. “People with problems shouldnt bash other people with problems of their own,” says Brandenburgs premier, Matthias Platzeck. 盖尔森基兴抱怨这个协议构成该城市总额8亿5000万欧元中1/3的负债。 鲁尔区的市长们说，救济应该根据需求来分配，而不是罗盘上的方位。 东部城市勃兰登堡市长Matthias Platzeck反驳： 不应该攻击那些与你共患难的人。 The east has made progress, but income per head is still only 70% of that in the west (see chart). Local tax revenues are just 60% of western levels, one justification for the solidarity pact. Convergence has slowed since the 1990s, points out Jutta Gnther of the Halle Institute for Economic Research. Some regions, like “Silicon Saxony” near Dresden, are booming. Others are ageing and emptying. There are few corporate headquarters staffed by well-paid managers. Most eastern firms work on earlier, less lucrative bits of the value chain. 虽然东部经济有在进步，但是人均工资却仍只有西部人的70%（见下表）。 当地税收总额只有西部的六成，这是该协议的一个存在理由。 哈雷经济研究院的Jutta Gnther指出，东部的聚集效应从90年代就放缓了。 部分地区正在兴起，比如靠近硅谷萨克森的德累斯顿。 其他地区则正在经历人口老龄化和人口流失。 很少公司总部会聘请高薪职业经理人打理业务。 多数东部公司都处在价值链的末端，比较薄利的那部分。 The Ruhr grumblers have little hope of grabbing a slice of the solidarity support, which in any case is shrinking and will expire in 2019. But they have ignited a discussion about three interlinked issues. The first is about the wests infrastructure, which looks shabby next to much of the easts. If you account for depreciation, public investment in western infrastructure is negative, notes Klaus-Heiner R?hl of the Cologne Institute for Economic Research. 这些满腹抱怨的鲁尔区市民几乎没什么机会得到团结协议的恩惠，-该协议正 在萎缩且在2019年行将过期。 但是这些民意却引发了三个议题的广泛讨论。 其一，是西部的基础设施建设情况-相比东部的而言西部基建很落后。 来自古龙经济研究所的Klaus-Heiner R?hl说，若考虑上折旧，那么西部的基 建就是负数了。 The second is what principles should govern help for poorer regions. The wasteful “watering-can” approach that sprinkles whole states with cash ought to be ditched along with the compass- point principle, says Mr R?hl. It would be better to target help to cities with high unemployment (rather than merely to poor regions that might be losing population). A few hundred million euros a year would suffice for poor western areas. The debate will be fuelled by the expiration in 2019 of the rules for interstate transfers, under which four resentful rich states subsidise the rest (to the tune of 7.3 billion last year). 其二，在考虑援助东部时，应该以什么为首要原则？ 古龙经济研究所的Klaus-Heiner R?hl说，不但不能用效率不高的洒水器 法去雨泽各州，也不能遵循罗盘定位的原则。 最好是把财政用在那些高失业率城市的刀刃上（而不仅仅限于是那些人口 不断外流的贫困地区）。 对于贫穷的西部城市来说，每年几千万欧元的资金已经满足了。 在2019年这个协议失效之前，这场辩论会一直持续下去。现在4个较富有的州 要资助其余地区，去年这笔资金就达到73亿欧元。 Then there is the question of whether any amount of help can erase regional inequalities. Decades of coal-mining subsidies probably delayed the Ruhrs transformation. Gelsenkirchen is gamely trying new things, and has cut its jobless rate from still-higher levels. The Graf Bismarck land was expensively reclaimed for housing and business investment, but rents are forbiddingly high. Gelsenkirchens solar-energy ambitions took a knock in February when Scheuten Solar, a Dutch owned-company, filed for insolvency. Germany “has to live with the fact that some regions prosper and others are peripheral,” says Ms Gnther. A Ruhr comeback is possible, but still looks decades away. 再一个问题就是：单用财政资助能否解决地区经济发展不平衡？ 对煤矿业几十年的补助拖沓了鲁尔区的转型。 盖尔森基兴采取了进取型的策略，并削减了失业率（虽然依然很高）。 俾斯麦伯爵煤矿场的土地现在被用作住宅和商业用地，租金却扶摇直上。 盖尔森基兴发展太阳能的勃勃野心最近受到挫败：二月份，荷兰的Scheuten 太阳能公司申请了破产。 哈雷经济研究院的Jutta Gnther说，德国“要学会接受的是，繁荣的地区与 次重要的城市共存这个事实”。 鲁尔区的振兴是有可能的，只不过不知还要多少个春秋。 德国：西部控诉东部 A Ruhr deal 鲁尔区很差钱 Poor westerners dont want to hand money to thriving easterners 贫穷的德西人不想再把钱交到蒸蒸日上的德东人手里 CRACKED streets, silent factories, idle workers. Eastern Germany circa 1992? Yes, but also parts of western Germany today. The Graf Bismarck coal mine in Gelsenkirchen, once one of Germanys biggest, closed in 1966. Like many of its neighbours in the Ruhr region, the city has not recovered from the near-extinction of coal and steel production. Its unemployment rate is 14.6%, roughly the same as Irelands. Nearly one-third of its 258,000 inhabitants receive benefits. By 2016 Gelsenkirchen will be deemed “overindebted”, sharply restricting investment. “A city that cant invest goes kaput,” says its spokesman, Martin Schulmann. 破破烂烂的街道，死气沉沉的工厂，游手好闲的工人。 这是大概1992年的东德吗？ 是的，也是今天德国西部部分地区的状况。 位于盖尔森基兴的俾斯麦伯爵煤矿早在1966年就结业，曾是德国最大的煤矿之 一。 正和鲁尔区其他城市一样，这座城市还没从几近灭绝的煤钢产业衰退中喘过气 来。 这里的失业率，几乎和爱尔兰的一样，高企14.6%。 差不多258，000人口中的三分之一居民靠政府福利过活。 在2016年之前，盖尔森基兴将会“负债不堪”，严重破坏投资氛围。 “如果一个城市不能吸引外来投资，那就完蛋了”，城市发言人Martin Schulmann说道。 Meanwhile, eastern Germany sparkles with freshly paved roads, roomy university campuses and lovingly restored town centres. Some 1.3 trillion ($1.7 trillion) has flowed into the east since unification in 1990. Germans in poorer parts of the west think they deserve some of this money. “The need here is much greater,” says Gelsenkirchens mayor, Frank Baranowski. 与此同时，德国东部城市在刚铺就的道路、新落成的大学校园和修葺好的镇区 中熠熠生辉。 自从1990年两德统一以来，大概13000亿欧元资金被注入到东部地区。 但是西部人确认为他们更需要这批钱。 “这里(对资金)的需求更大”，盖尔森基兴市长Frank Baranowski如是说。 The Ruhr has been moaning for decades. But the explosive idea that poor westerners are furnishing luxuries to the east has grabbed national attention and enlivened an election to be held in May in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, where the Ruhr is located. The main target of complaint is “solidarity pact 2”, which is to transfer 156.5 billion to the six eastern states between 2005 and 2019. 鲁尔区的不济已经持续几十年。 但最近认为西部正在奢侈地供应财力给东部的民意很引人注目，不仅引起 全国性关注，还使将在五月进行的北莱因-威斯特法伦(鲁尔区所在地)的选举 热闹起来。 民意不满的焦点在于“团结协议2号”-该协议旨在从2005年到2019年向东部 6州提供1565亿欧元资金。 Gelsenkirchen blames its contribution to the pact for one-third of its 850m debt. Aid should be distributed according to need, not “points on a compass”, say Ruhr mayors. Easterners are fighting back. “People with problems shouldnt bash other people with problems of their own,” says Brandenburgs premier, Matthias Platzeck. 盖尔森基兴抱怨这个协议构成该城市总额8亿5000万欧元中1/3的负债。 鲁尔区的市长们说，救济应该根据需求来分配，而不是罗盘上的方位。 东部城市勃兰登堡市长Matthias Platzeck反驳： 不应该攻击那些与你共患难的人。 The east has made progress, but income per head is still only 70% of that in the west (see chart). Local tax revenues are just 60% of western levels, one justification for the solidarity pact. Convergence has slowed since the 1990s, points out Jutta Gnther of the Halle Institute for Economic Research. Some regions, like “Silicon Saxony” near Dresden, are booming. Others are ageing and emptying. There are few corporate headquarters staffed by well-paid managers. Most eastern firms work on earlier, less lucrative bits of the value chain. 虽然东部经济有在进步，但是人均工资却仍只有西部人的70%（见下表）。 当地税收总额只有西部的六成，这是该协议的一个存在理由。 哈雷经济研究院的Jutta Gnther指出，东部的聚集效应从90年代就放缓了。 部分地区正在兴起，比如靠近硅谷萨克森的德累斯顿。 其他地区则正在经历人口老龄化和人口流失。 很少公司总部会聘请高薪职业经理人打理业务。 多数东部公司都处在价值链的末端，比较薄利的那部分。 The Ruhr grumblers have little hope of grabbing a slice of the solidarity support, which in any case is shrinking and will expire in 2019. But they have ignited a discussion about three interlinked issues. The first is about the wests infrastructure, which looks shabby next to much of the easts. If you account for depreciation, public investment in western infrastructure is negative, notes Klaus-Heiner R?hl of the Cologne Institute for Economic Research. 这些满腹抱怨的鲁尔区市民几乎没什么机会得到团结协议的恩惠，-该协议正 在萎缩且在2019年行将过期。 但是这些民意却引发了三个议题的广泛讨论。 其一，是西部的基础设施建设情况-相比东部的而言西部基建很落后。 来自古龙经济研究所的Klaus-Heiner R?hl说，若考虑上折旧，那么西部的基 建就是负数了。 The second is what principles should govern help for poorer regions. Th