权威杂志《经济学人》英文原版整理完全版.docx

权威杂志《经济学人》英文原版整理完全版.docx

《权威杂志《经济学人》英文原版整理完全版.docx》由会员分享，可在线阅读，更多相关《权威杂志《经济学人》英文原版整理完全版.docx（37页珍藏版）》请在冰豆网上搜索。

权威杂志《经济学人》英文原版整理完全版

DigestOfThe.Economist.2006（8-9）

Themismeasureofwoman

Menandwomenthinkdifferently.Butnotthatdifferently

INTHE1970stherewasafadforgivingdollstobabyboysandfire-enginestobabygirls.Theideawasthatdifferencesinbehaviourbetweenthesexesweresolelytheresultofupbringing:

cultureturnedwomenintoironers,knittersandchatterboxes,andmenintohammerers,drillersandsilenttypes.Switchingtoyswouldputanendtosexualsorting.Today,itisclearwhyitdidnot.Whenboysandgirlsareborn,theyarealreadydifferent,andtheyfavourdifferenttoysfromthebeginning.

Thatboysandgirls—andmenandwomen—areprogrammedbyevolutiontobehavedifferentlyfromoneanotherisnowwidelyaccepted.Surely,noonetodaywouldthinkofdoingwhatJohnMoney,ofJohnsHopkinsUniversity,didin1967:

amputatingthegenitaliaofaboywhohadsufferedabotchedcircumcision,andadvisingtheparentstobringhimupasagirl.Theexperimentdidn'twork,andtheconsequencesweretragic.Butwhichofthedifferencesbetweenthesexesare“biological〞,inthesensethattheyhavebeenhonedbyevolution,andwhichare“cultural〞or“environmental〞andmightmoreeasilybealteredbychangedcircumstances,isstillfiercelydebated.

ThesensitivityofthequestionwasshownlastyearbyafuroreatHarvardUniversity.LarrySummers,thenHarvard'spresident,causedastormwhenhesuggestedthatinnateabilitycouldbeanimportantreasonwhythereweresofewwomeninthetoppositionsinmathematics,engineeringandthephysicalsciences.

Evenasapropositionfordiscussion,thisisunacceptabletosome.Butbiologicalexplanationsofhumanbehaviouraremakingacomebackasthegenerationofacademicsthatfearedthemasacovertwayofjustifyingeugenics,orofthwartingMarxistutopianism,isretiring.Thesuccessofneo-Darwinismhasprovidedanintellectualunderpinningfordiscussionaboutwhysomedifferencesbetweenthesexesmightbeinnate.Andnewscanningtechniqueshaveenabledresearcherstoexaminethebrain'sinteriorwhileitisworking,showingthatmaleandfemalebrainsdo,atonelevel,operatedifferently.Theresults,however,donotalwayssupportpastclichésaboutwhatthedifferencesinquestionactuallyare.

Differencesinbehaviourbetweenthesexesmust,insomeway,bereflectionsofsystematicdifferencesbetweenthebrainsofmalesandfemales.Suchdifferencescertainlyexist,butdrawinginferencesfromthemisnotaseasyasitmayappear.

Forastart,men'sbrainsareabout9%largerthanthoseofwomen.Thatusedtobecitedasevidenceofmen'ssupposedlygreaterintelligence.Actually,thedifferenceislargely（andprobablycompletely）explainedbythefactthatmenarebiggerthanwomen.Inrecentyears,moredetailedexaminationhasrefinedthepicture.Femalebrainshaveahigherpercentageofgreymatter（themanifestation,enbloc,ofthecentralbodiesofnervecells）,andthusalowerpercentageofwhitematter（themanifestationofthelong,thinfilamentsthatconnectnervecellstogether）,thanmalebrains.That,plusthefactthatinsomeregionsofthefemalebrain,nervecellsarepackedmoredenselythaninmen,meansthatthenumberofnervecellsinmaleandfemalebrainsmay

besimilar.

Oddly,though,themainconnectionbetweenthetwohemispheresofthebrain,whichisknownasthecorpuscallosumandismadeofwhitematter,isproportionatelysmallerinmenthanwomen.Thismayexplainwhymenuseonlyonesideofthebraintoprocesssomeproblemsforwhichwomenemploybothsides.

ThesedifferencesinstructureandwiringdonotappeartohaveanyinfluenceonintelligenceasmeasuredbyIQtests.Itdoes,however,seemthatthesexescarryoutthesetestsindifferentways.Inoneexample,wheremenandwomenperformequallywellinatestthatasksthemtoworkoutwhethernonsensewordsrhyme,brainscanningshowsthatwomenuseareasonboththerightandtheleftsidesofthebraintoaccomplishthetask.Men,bycontrast,useonlyareasontheleftside.Thereisalsoacorrelationbetweenmathematicalreasoningandtemporal-lobeactivityinmen—butnoneinwomen.Moregenerally,menseemtorelymoreontheirgreymatterfortheirIQ,whereaswomenrelymoreontheirwhitematter.

Americanexceptionalism

Theworld'sbiggestinsurancemarketistoosplintered

KANSASCITY,Missouri,isknownmoreforitshistoricalroleasacattletownthanasafinancialhub.Butitistothismidwesterncity,America's26thlargest,thatregulatorsandinsuranceexecutivesfromaroundtheglobeheadwhentheywanttomakesenseoftheworld'slargest—andoneofitsweirdest—insurancemarkets.

ForitisinKansasCitythattheNationalAssociationofInsuranceCommissioners（NAIC）ishoused.Itoverseesamarketaccountingforone-thirdofpremiumswrittenworldwide.OutsideKansasCity,themarketbecomesaregulatoryfree-for-all.EachofAmerica's50states,plustheDistrictofColombia,governsitsinsuranceindustryinitsownway.

Inanincreasinglyglobalinsurancemarket,America'sstate-basedsystemiscomingunderstrongpressuretoreform.InsurancehaschangeddramaticallysincetheNAICwassetupin1871,withgrowingsophisticationinunderwritingandriskmanagement.PremiumsinAmericahaveballoonedto$1.1trillionandmarketpowerisincreasinglyconcentratedinthehandsofbigplayers（someofthemforeign-owned）thatarepushingforanoverhaulofthestate-basedsystem.“It'sanextremelyexpensiveandByzantineprocess,〞saysBobHartwig,aneconomistwiththeInsuranceInformationInstitute,aresearchgroup.

Thoughafiercelypoliticalissue,congressionalsupportforsimplifyingthesystemisgainingground.BothhousesofCongressarelookingatproposalstochangethestate-basedsystem.Biginsurersfavouraversionthatwouldimplementanoptionalfederalcharterallowingthemtobypassthestate-bystateregulatoryprocessiftheychoose.Asimilarsystemalreadyexistsforbanks.

Proponentsofthechangesseemoreefficiency,anabilitytorolloutproductsmorequicklynationallyand,ultimately,betterofferingsforconsumersasaresult.Yetsomeconsumergroupsfavourstate-basedregulation.Theybelieveitkeepspremiumslowerthantheyotherwisewouldbe.PremiumsasapercentageofgrossoutputarelowerinAmericathaninseveralothercountries.

Thepoliticalheadwindsarestrong:

insurancecommissionersareelectedofficialsinsomestates（California,forinstance）andappointedbythegovernorinothers.Theindustryisalsosplit:

mostofthecountry's4,500insurersaresmall,andmanyofthemhaveclosetieswithstate-basedregulators,whosesurvivaltheysupport.Buteventheseforcesmayeventuallybeovercome.

ElsewhereintheindustryinAmerica,thereareothercallsforreform.Inabackdoorformofprotectionism,Americanreinsurancefirmshavelongbenefitedfromaregulationthatrequiresforeignreinsurerswritingcross-borderbusinessintoAmericatopostmorecollateralthantheydo.“IfyouoperateoutsidethebordersoftheUS,theydon'ttrustyouoneinch,〞lamentsJulianJames,headofinternationalbusinessatLloyd'sofLondon,whichwrites38%ofitsbusinessinAmerica.

Thecollateralrequirementwasestablishedbecauseofworriesaboutregulatorystandardsabroad,andthefinancialstrengthofglobalreinsurers.Todayregulatorystandardshavebeentightenedinmanyforeignmarkets.AmajorityofAmerica'sreinsurancecovernowcomesfromfirmsbasedabroad,includingmanythathavesetupoffshoreinBermuda（fortaxreasons）primarilytoserveAmerica.

Toohottohandle

Dell'sbatteryrecallrevealsthetechnologyindustry'svulnerabilities

THEREisthenailtest,inwhichateamofengineersdrivesalargemetalnailthroughabatterycelltoseeifitexplodes.Inanothertrial,laboratorytechniciansbakethebatteriesinanoventosimulatetheeffectsofadigitaldeviceleftinaclosedcaronaswelteringday—tocheckthereactionofthechemicalsinside.Onproductionruns,randombatchesofbatteriesaretestedfortemperature,efficiency,energydensityandoutput.

Buttherigorousprocessesthatgointomakingsophisticated,rechargeablebatteries—theheartofbillionsofelectronicgadgetsaroundtheworld—werenotenough.OnAugust14thDell,acomputercompany,saiditwouldreplace4.1mlithium-ionbatteriesmadebySony,aconsumer-electronicsfirm,inlaptopcomputerssoldbetween2004andlastmonth.Ahandfulofcustomershadreportedthebatteriesoverheating,catchingfireandevenexploding—includingonecelebratedcaseataconferencethisyearin

Japan,whichwascapturedonfilmandpassedaroundtheinternet.Thecosttothetwocompaniesisexpectedtobebetween$200mand$400m.

Insomeways,Dellisavictimofitssuccess.Thecompanywasapioneerinturningthepersonalcomputerintoacommodity,whichmeantsqueezingsupplierstothelastpenny,usingeconomiesofscalebyplacinghugeorders,andrunningefficientsupplychainswithlittleroomforerror.Itallcreatedavolatileenvironmentinwhichmistakescanhavegraveeffects.

Sincelithium-ionbatterieswereintroducedin1991,theircapacitytooverheatandburstintoflamehasbeenwellknown.Indeed,in2004Americabannedthemascargoonpassengerplanes,asafirehazard.Butthelatestproblemsseemtohavearisenbecauseofthemanufacturingprocess,whichdemandsperfection.“Ifthereisevenanano-sizedparticleofdust,asmallmetalshardorwatercondensationthatgetsintothebatterycell,itcanoverheatandexplode,〞saysSaraBradfordofFrost&Sullivan,aconsultancy.Astheenergyneedsofdeviceshavegrownrapidly,sohavethedemandsonbatteries.

Thecomputingindustry'scultureisal