職場(chǎng)雙語(yǔ)閱讀：美國(guó)何處創(chuàng)業(yè)最活躍
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If you want to break the ice at a corporate seasonalparty in America these days, try popping thisrevealing question: which part of the US has the highest proportion of entrepreneurship?
如果你想在最近美國(guó)某個(gè)企業(yè)的季節(jié)性派對(duì)上打破冷場(chǎng)局面，可以試著問(wèn)一下這個(gè)會(huì)暴露真相的問(wèn)題：美國(guó)哪里的創(chuàng)業(yè)人士比例最高?
“Silicon Valley” would be a predictable, and understandable, answer. After all, in recentyears, the San Francisco region has been an epicentre of US innovation. Mark Zuckerberg, thefounder of Facebook, seems to epitomise the entrepreneurial dream; particularly since hisrecent announcement that he plans to donate most of his largesse to social causes.
“硅谷”或許是可以預(yù)料也可以理解的答案。畢竟，最近幾年這個(gè)舊金山地區(qū)已成為美國(guó)創(chuàng)新的核心地帶。Facebook創(chuàng)始人馬克丠克伯格(Mark Zuckerberg)似乎是創(chuàng)業(yè)夢(mèng)的象征——尤其是自從他最近宣布計(jì)劃捐出多數(shù)財(cái)產(chǎn)用于社會(huì)慈善事業(yè)以來(lái)。
But here is a curious little detail of America’s economy today: if you want to understand thereal nature of entrepreneurial activity, do not look to Silicon Valley or Mr Zuckerberg. Thebiggest hotbed of urban entrepreneurship, as measured by the number of small companiesper head, is now New York, not the West Coast, according to research by the KauffmanFoundation, a think-tank. Boston sits in second place in terms of “entrepreneurship”, followedby Providence, Rhode Island. Meanwhile, San Francisco is fourth, just ahead of Miami in Floridaand Portland in Oregon. Main Street is giving the Valley more than a run for its money.
不過(guò)，今天的美國(guó)經(jīng)濟(jì)中卻存在一個(gè)奇怪的細(xì)節(jié)：如果你想了解創(chuàng)業(yè)活動(dòng)的真正特點(diǎn)，不要把眼光放在硅谷或扎克伯格身上。根據(jù)智庫(kù)考夫曼基金會(huì)(Kauffman Foundation)的研究，以人均小企業(yè)數(shù)計(jì)算，如今城市創(chuàng)業(yè)的最大溫床是紐約而不是西海岸。以“創(chuàng)業(yè)”而言，波士頓位居第二位，排在其后的是羅得島州的普羅維登斯。同時(shí)，舊金山排在第四位，在佛羅里達(dá)州的邁阿密和俄勒岡州的波特蘭之前。紐約緬街(Main Street)正向硅谷發(fā)起嚴(yán)峻挑戰(zhàn)。
Geography is not the only surprise. The word “start-up” tends to conjure up images of baby-faced, hoody-wearing youngsters such as Mr Zuckerberg. But the Kauffman data suggest thatthe average age of entrepreneurs and small business owners is far higher — and rising. Peopleaged 45-54 now own 32 per cent of small businesses, the engines of economic activity and jobcreation.
地理位置不是唯一令人驚異之處。“初創(chuàng)”一詞往往會(huì)讓人頭腦中浮現(xiàn)出像扎克伯格這樣一臉稚氣、身穿連帽衫的年輕人形象。然而考夫曼基金會(huì)的數(shù)據(jù)卻顯示，創(chuàng)業(yè)者和小企業(yè)主的平均年齡不僅要高得多，而且還在不斷上升。32%的小企業(yè)由年齡在45歲到54歲之間的人士持有，而小企業(yè)正是經(jīng)濟(jì)活動(dòng)和創(chuàng)造就業(yè)的發(fā)動(dòng)機(jī)。
These middle-aged entrepreneurs are the biggest single cohort among business owners. Thosefollowing on behind, the 20-34 year olds — Mr Zuckerberg’s cohort — own just 16 per cent ofsmall businesses, down from 28 per cent when the series started in 1997. Start-up activityamong the younger cohort is also falling, as it increases among the middle aged. Meanwhile, theeducational qualifications of entrepreneurs is rising: a majority now hold a graduate degree.And immigrants now own 20 per cent of all small businesses, twice the level in 1997.
這些中年創(chuàng)業(yè)者是企業(yè)主中最大的群體。相比之下，跟隨其后的20到34歲群體(扎克伯格所在的群體)只擁有16%的小企業(yè)，大大低于1997年該系列調(diào)查開(kāi)始時(shí)28%的比例。較年輕群體的創(chuàng)業(yè)活動(dòng)也在減少，而中年人創(chuàng)業(yè)活動(dòng)卻在增加。與此同時(shí)，創(chuàng)業(yè)者的受教育程度也在上升：如今多數(shù)人擁有研究生學(xué)位。此外，目前外來(lái)移民持有所有小企業(yè)中的20%，是1997年的兩倍。
What accounts for these trends? Data on small business activity in general — andentrepreneurship in particular — are notoriously patchy. However, Kauffman suggests thatthe heavy burden of 猀琀甀攙攀渀琀 debt may be deterring young people from becomingentrepreneurs. The broader ageing of the American population is also affecting the 猀琀愀琀椀猀琀椀挀猀.
對(duì)于這些趨勢(shì)應(yīng)該如何解釋?有關(guān)總體的小企業(yè)活動(dòng)的數(shù)據(jù)(尤其是有關(guān)創(chuàng)業(yè)活動(dòng)的數(shù)據(jù))是出了名地東拼西湊。不過(guò)，考夫曼基金會(huì)表示，學(xué)生債務(wù)的沉重負(fù)擔(dān)也許正在妨礙年輕人走上創(chuàng)業(yè)道路。從更大的層面上說(shuō)，美國(guó)人口的老化也在影響這一統(tǒng)計(jì)結(jié)果。
The more intriguing issue is whether the pattern of older entrepreneurs also reflects thechanging profile of work. Digitisation is wiping out swaths of once-secure middle-classcorporate jobs, tossing out middle-aged employees; indeed, the Oxford Martin school ofbusiness forecasts that half of all US jobs will be replaced by robots in the next two decades.Americans are living longer and their pension provision is shrinking. Some of this middle-agedentrepreneurial activity, in other words, is probably sparked by necessity as much as byactive choice — a consequence of economic insecurity as well as economic freedom.
更有趣的問(wèn)題是，創(chuàng)業(yè)者的高齡化趨勢(shì)是否也反映了就業(yè)模式的變化。數(shù)字化正在導(dǎo)致大量曾經(jīng)很穩(wěn)定的中產(chǎn)階級(jí)企業(yè)工作崗位消失，將中年員工拋出企業(yè)。事實(shí)上，牛津大學(xué)馬丁學(xué)院(Oxford Martin School)預(yù)計(jì)，在今后20年內(nèi)，美國(guó)半數(shù)工作崗位將由機(jī)器人取代。美國(guó)人的壽命正在增加，他們的養(yǎng)老金卻在縮水。換句話說(shuō)，這種中年創(chuàng)業(yè)活動(dòng)的一部分既可能是自主選擇，也可能是迫不得已——這不僅是經(jīng)濟(jì)自由的結(jié)果，同樣也是經(jīng)濟(jì)不穩(wěn)定的結(jié)果。
That, in turn, may have bigger policy implications, particularly given the 爀椀猀椀渀最 level ofincome inequality. One encouraging piece of news in the data is that overall entrepreneurshiprose last year, after declining during the
反過(guò)來(lái)說(shuō)，這也許會(huì)帶來(lái)更大的政策上的啟示——尤其是考慮到收入不平等的不斷加劇。在這些數(shù)據(jù)中，一個(gè)令人鼓舞的消息是，在經(jīng)歷了金融危機(jī)期間的下滑之后，去年創(chuàng)業(yè)活動(dòng)總體增加了。但是，它依然低于幾十年前的水平。不過(guò)，目前美國(guó)政策制定者有許多辦法可以提高創(chuàng)業(yè)活動(dòng)的水平。
Great Financial Crisis. But it remains below the levels seen a couple of decades ago. There is agreat deal that Amer-ican 瀀漀氀椀挀礀洀愀欀攀爀猀 could do now, however, to raise thoseentrepreneurship levels.
不應(yīng)該僅僅談及減輕大企業(yè)的稅負(fù)(這正是華盛頓爭(zhēng)論集中的領(lǐng)域)，而應(yīng)該將更多努力用于精簡(jiǎn)美國(guó)噩夢(mèng)般復(fù)雜的小企業(yè)稅法。醫(yī)療保險(xiǎn)的提供也應(yīng)該簡(jiǎn)化。此外，小企業(yè)還需要有更多融資渠道，尤其是因?yàn)椋?008年后金融改革導(dǎo)致的一個(gè)非常不幸的后果是，銀行如今非常不愿意為規(guī)模較小的企業(yè)提供資金。
Instead of just talking about lowering taxes for big corporations (which is where the debate isfocused in Washington), there should be more effort made to streamline America’snightmarishly complex small business tax code. Healthcare provision should also besimplified. Small business also requires a wider range of financing channels, particularly sinceone very unfortunate consequence of the post-2008 financial reforms is that banks are nowvery unwilling to provide funding for smaller companies.
此外，文化上的變革也是必要的。最值得注意的是，美國(guó)政策制定者(和選民)需要認(rèn)識(shí)到，不是今天所有成功的創(chuàng)業(yè)者都穿著連帽衫，或者沐浴在加利福尼亞州的陽(yáng)光下。相反，多數(shù)人不是這樣。為應(yīng)對(duì)傳統(tǒng)企業(yè)崗位的消失或中產(chǎn)階級(jí)分崩離析的詛咒，想辦法提倡和支持較年長(zhǎng)的群體創(chuàng)業(yè)也將是關(guān)鍵的一步。這也會(huì)讓經(jīng)濟(jì)更加健康，季節(jié)性派對(duì)的氣氛更加輕松愉快。
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