Why Some Countries Are Poor and Others Rich

There are 196 countries in the world.
世界上有196個國家。

25 of them are very rich, defined as having an average wealth per person of over $100,000 a year.
其中，有25個國家可說是極為富有，其評定的標準為：人民年均財產可達十萬元。

They are:
他們為以下國家：

But far more countries are quite poor, and some, which we’re considering here, are very very poor.
不過相較之下，有更多的國家處於貧窮狀態，甚至有一些國家可說是極度貧窮。

These are the 20 poorest countries in the world: 
以下20個是全世界最貧窮的國家：

where the per capital wealth is under a $1,000 a year, or under three dollars a day.
這些國家的首都 年均薪資低於一千元，甚至日薪可能低於三元。

Every country is now more or less on a path to growth, but the poor ones are growing very, very slowly.
即便這些國家或多或少往正向發展當中，不過極貧國家的成長率可說是極為緩慢。

If Zimbabwe continues at its current growth rate, it will qualify as a ‘rich country’ in 2722 years.
若是辛巴威維持目前的成長曲線，2722年將有資格成為一個「富有國家」。

What we want to know in this film is why some countries prosper and others stagnate.
為何有的國家繁榮 而有的國家蕭條，這部影片會告訴你。

So we can understand what rich countries are doing right.
如此一來，便能明白富庶的國家為何如此繁榮。

And get a better grip on the challenges and hurdles facing poor countries.
並能完整掌握這些貧窮的國家所面臨的挑戰以及障礙。

There are basically three factors that determine whether a country will be rich or poor.
基本上，有三個主因決定一個國家是繁榮或貧窮。

The first is:
首先：

INSTITUTIONS
國家制度

Institutions are beyond important.
國家制度非同小可。

Broadly speaking, rich countries have 'good institutions' and poor ones have very, very bad ones.
總體來說，繁榮的國家總是有著完善的國家制度，而貧窮的國家則完全相反。

The correlation between poverty and corruption is direct.
一個國家的貧困和官員貪污之間有著直接關係。

The richest countries in the world are quite simply invariably also the least corrupt ones.
最繁榮的國家基本上總是最少官員貪污。

And the most corrupt countries are also the poorest.
而最貧窮的國家卻總是貪污最為嚴重的。

When countries are corrupt, they can’t collect enough taxes to get the good institutions they would need to escape the poverty trap.
當一個國家貪污猖獗，稅收不足以維持一個國家的基本運作，如此一來便無法逃離貧困的圍城。

Half of the wealth of the world’s poorest 20 countries goes into offshore accounts.
世界上最貧窮的20個國家，都將半數左右的財富流向離岸帳戶當中。

Lost revenues in these countries totals between $10 and $20 billion dollars a year.
因此這些國家一年也流失將近一、兩百億的稅收來源。

Meanwhile, without an adequate tax base, poor countries can’t invest in police, education, health and transport.
與此同時，在欠缺足夠稅收基礎的情況下，貧窮國家往往無法投入資金在治安、教育、健保以及運輸系統上。

Now, a more generous way to look at corruption is that it’s really a case of clan-based thinking.
現在，想更清楚的透視這種貪腐現象，你可以直接將它視為一個凡事以家族利益為先的思維模式。

Say you’re hiring someone.
假設你打算雇用一些人作為員工。

In the rich countries, you’re meant to do so simply on merit, interviewing lots of candidates then picking the best one irrespective of any personal connection.
在繁榮的國家，你必須考量功過、面試數名應徵者後，屏除私人關係再選出最合適的人。

But in poor countries under the sway of clan-based thinking, that approach would itself be seen as corrupt.
但在貧窮的國家，受家族利益思維影響的情況下，思路就會趨於貪腐。

It’s your duty to disregard the so-called best candidate from an anonymous bunch, in order to pick someone from your own team:
你負責漠視那些來路不明卻非常優秀的應徵者，而是在自己的認識的人當中做選擇：

your uncle, your brother, your second cousin, the guys from the same tribe.
你的叔叔、兄弟、表親或是你的親戚。

As a result, poor countries don’t allow themselves access to the intelligence and talent of the whole population.
因此，在貧窮的國家，選用優秀及有才華的人是不被允許的行為。

There’s a second thing that keeps countries poor:
以下是第二個使國家貧窮的原因：

CULTURE
文化差異

What goes on in people’s minds, their outlooks and beliefs.
在人們的思想、觀點和信仰當中運作。

A striking statistic pops up here in relation to religion.
一個引人注目的統計數據此時指出其與信仰之間的關聯。

If there’s one generalization you can make about religion and wealth, it’s that the less people believe, the richer they stand a chance of being.
如果要用一句話概括信仰和財富之間的關係，那就是當你迷信的越少，致富的機率就越高。

19 of the richest countries in the world have 70% or more of their populations saying that religion is not at all important to them.
世界排名前19的富有國家當中，有70%的人民表示，信仰對他們來說並非是太重要的部分。

The exception here is, unsurprisingly, the United States, which manages to combine great religiosity with huge wealth (more on that in a second).
不過有一個例外是，美國卻能將虔誠信仰與大量財富毫無違和感完美共存。

And conversely, the poorest nations in the world are also extremely believing ones.
相反的，最貧窮的國家也同時是最迷信的。

Here’s how many people think religion and the supernatural is deeply important in the following countries:
數據顯示，以下國家有多少人民篤信超自然力量和宗教是極為重要的：

In the world’s poorest country, simply everyone is a believer.
基本上在這個世界上最為貧窮的國家，所有國民都迷信宗教。

Why is belief quite so bad for wealth creation?
為什麼信仰如此不利於經濟活動呢？

Because in general, religiosity is connected up with the idea that the here and now can’t be improved, so you should focus on the spiritual and look forward to a next world instead.
因為總體來說，宗教狂熱者總是認為自己無法改善此生的生活，所以這輩子只需要聚焦在心靈的富足上就夠了，並且期待來生能有更好的生活。

It makes quite a bit of sense when you live here.
如果你居住在這樣的地方你就會理解了。

In the rich world on the other hand, people are generally great believers in their capacity to alter their destiny through effort and talent.
然而當我們觀察其他繁榮的社會後會發現，這裡的人民基本上都篤信自己能靠著努力和天賦去扭轉自己的命運。

Incidentally, to explain the anomaly of the United States, religion seems not to slow down economic growth here because it is a particular sort of religion: an overwhelmingly protestant and exceptionally materialistic kind.
順帶一提，美國的與眾不同，宗教似乎並沒有拖垮他們的經濟成長，因為大家幾乎都倒向一些特定的信仰：壓倒性的多數基督教和為數眾多的物質主義者。

The American god doesn’t want you to think of building the new Jerusalem in the next world.
美國人篤信神不指望這些信徒們在來世建造出一座新的聖城。

He wants it here and now in Kansas or Houston.
他要信徒們在這輩子成就一番基業。

There’s another big factor that determines the wealth and poverty of nations:
以下是另一個影響國家富裕與否的重要因素：

GEOGRAPHY
地理位置

Poor countries are overwhelmingly located in the tropical regions.
貧窮的國家通常都不可抗拒的位於潮濕炎熱的地帶。

This isn’t a coincidence.
這並不是個巧合。

Life is, in many ways, simply far far tougher there.
在這邊生活，不論是哪一方面，都遠遠比你想像的還要艱困許多。

The problems begin with agriculture:
一切問題的根源都可以從當地的農業情況說起：

Tropical plants are generally a lot less packed with carbohydrates.
當地可種植的熱帶植物通常都缺乏大量的碳水化合物。

Poor countries have worse soil too.
貧窮的國家通常也只能擁有非常貧脊的土壤。

Also, and perhaps surprisingly, a tropical climate can be disadvantageous to photosynthesis.
更令人吃驚的是，這樣的熱帶環境其實非常不利於光合作用的形成。

Historically, a key determinant in the likelihood of societies growing rich was their possession of large domesticated animals (such as horses and oxen) which liberated a huge part of the workforce from having to plough by hand.
從歷史的角度來看，一個社會是否富裕，關鍵性因素與他們所豢養的大型動物（比如馬和牛）多寡有關，也就是說是這些人是否握有足夠的牲畜來協助耕種。

But in tropical Africa, domesticated animals have throughout time been devastated by a further appalling scourge: the Tsetse fly.
不過在位處熱帶的非洲，這些能幫助耕種的大型動物正被十分駭人的物種凌虐著：采采蠅。

This small fly—exclusively present in Africa because of its heat and humidity— knocks out animals on an enormous scale, making them sleepy or inactive.
因為當地的氣溫和濕度 這種小飛蠅只存在於非洲，受他們折磨的大型動物已達到非常驚人的數量，被叮咬後多半會呈現嗜睡及了無生氣的症狀。

And has had a profound effect on the ability of Africans to develop technology, increase agricultural productivity and amass wealth.
這種情況對非洲的科技發展、農業產能和財富的累積上產生深遠的影響。
It isn’t just plants and animals that suffer in the tropics.
在熱帶，不只是植物和動物受盡折磨。

In the middle latitudes, humans are open to a terrifying array of diseases including:
在中緯度地區，這裡的人民正暴露在大量駭人的疾病當中，包含：

100% of low-income countries are affected by at least five tropical diseases simultaneously.
有100%的低收入國家，正同時被5種以上的熱帶疾病纏身。

The magical temperature which has helped to make rich countries rich is 16 degree centigrade.
攝氏16度是能幫助一個國家成功致富的神奇溫度。

However superficially unpleasant, that drop below 16 degrees as autumn starts to bite is quite literally, a foundation stone of civilization.
然而，令人不開心的是，一但秋天的溫度降到攝氏16度以下，卻是文明世界開始發展的基石。

Geography also encompasses transport and poor countries are, on the whole, very badly connected.
地理位置的好壞與否也包含了交通的便利性，貧窮的國家總是無法擁有四通八達的交通。

Landlocked Bolivia and semi landlocked Paraguay are the poorest nations in South America.
玻利維亞內陸和部分巴拉圭內陸是南美最為貧窮的國家。

Africa has only one major navigable river, the Nile and hosts 15 landlocked nations, 11 of which have average incomes of $600 a year or less.
非洲僅有一條適合航行的主要河流：尼羅河，貫穿15個內陸國家，其中就有11個國家年均所得僅有600元，甚至更少。

Not coincidentally, the poorest country in Asia, Afghanistan, is also landlocked.
並非巧合的是，亞洲最為貧窮的國家－阿富汗，也位處內陸。

Then there’s the matter of natural resources.
接下來我們來看天然資源可能造成的影響。

Natural resources, like oil or precious metals, can be real trouble.
天然資源，好比石油或貴金屬，可以導致非常嚴重的問題。

And paradoxically, poor countries tend to have them in spades.
反常的是，通常這些貧窮的國家都擁有十分豐富的天然資源。

These natural resources are what economists call intensifiers: they will help to make a country with good institutions richer, but one with bad institutions get even poorer, precipitating what’s called the resources trap.
這些天然資源通常都被經濟學家稱為增強劑：它們能幫助那些擁有完善制度的國家走向富強，但反觀那些制度腐敗的國家，甚至變得更貧窮，將被困在資源帶來的陷阱之中。

So the Democratic Republic of the Congo is one of the world’s most mineral rich countries; holding most of the world’s Coltan, which every mobile phone has a bit of inside.
剛果民主共和國是世界上礦物蘊藏量最豐富的國家之一，他們握有世界上最多的鈳鉭鐵礦，這也是生產每支手機時所需的貴金屬。

But natural resource wealth helps elites to grab money without requiring the cooperation of the whole society.
不過豐富的自然資源也讓社會上層可以在不和任何人合作的情況下牟取暴利。

If the only way to grow wealthy is to assemble high tech aeroengines,
如果致富的唯一方式是裝置高科技的航空引擎，

for example, you’re going to need your whole society to buy into the project, but if you just need to extract a few minerals, you can do so with a small labour force.
舉例來說，就會需要牽動整個社會來執行這項任務，但如果你只需要開採些許的礦物，不需要太大量的勞動力即可達成。

some guns and an airstrip long enough to ferry your loot out to market.
即便是要維持整個相關市場，你也只需要一些槍械和足以載運這些貨物的小機場。

The wealth from Coltan keeps DRC armed rebels in guns and corrupts every level of society.
鈳鉭鐵礦帶來的財富使剛果民主共和國的武裝反叛軍在槍枝的數量和貪腐的程度上都達到了一定的強度。

So how should one weigh up the relative importance of all these different factors, institutional, cultural and geographic, in determining the wealth of a nation.
所以我們該如何衡量各種不同因素 包括國家制度、文化差異與地理位置 與國家富強與否的關聯性？

There’s no hard and fast rules, but as a guide, one can suggest that:
其實並沒有什麼既快速又嚴格的準則，不過有件事是我們可以建議的：

50% of a nation’s wealth comes down to its institutions, 20% is due to its culture, and 10% each can be allocated to latitude, connectivity with the rest of the world, and geological good fortune.
關於一個國家的富強與否，有50%取決於國家制度，20%取決於文化差異，而10%取決於這個國家的緯度高低、與其他國家的連結程度和地質資源的蘊含量。

If you’re a policy maker, this discussion has wide practical implications.
如果你是一名當權者，以上這些內容的意涵對你來說應該是非常實用的。

But at a more personal level, one might take away two things from it;
不過如果是以個人化的角度來看，你可以學到兩件事；

Firstly, Modesty: you should have a better idea of what you owe your individual success to, which is not so much your own hard work or fine mind, 
第一，樸實：你應該更清楚的知道你個人的成功該歸功於什麼，這並不是因為你個人的努力或傑出的思想，

as the broader society you live in, which was produced over centuries and which you now draw benefit from unknowingly.
而是你所生活的廣闊社會當中，是歷經幾世紀後，才造就今日的益處。
And at the same time, Sympathy: an ability not to see failing societies just as basket cases, but rather as countries facing comprehensible and hugely difficult problems.
與此同時，同理心也一樣重要：與其不去看那些毫無希望的國家，不如幫助他們一起度過那些困境。

Our sympathy can be enhanced by reflecting that the troubles of desperate lands are to a considerable extent to do with malaria, a lack of navigable river and the horrific buzzing of the tsetse fly ,rather than always some more intimate human failing which we would ourselves never manifest.
我們的同理心可以體現於，思考該如何幫助那些貧窮的國家度過像是瘧疾、水源匱乏和采采蠅肆虐等困境，這都好過看著與自己同樣身為人類的兄弟姐妹們再受苦難。

 

Copyright Announcement: The above videos are  from the official Youtube channel of the organization. Why Some Countries Are Poor and Others Rich  https://www.youtube.com/user/schooloflifechannel . The videos we selected are all publicly available on the official channel, and we do not own the copyright of these videos. Our work on Chinese translation for this film is free for the 1.2 billion audiences in Mandarin Chinese around the world to watch and learn SDGs and SROI advertising campaigns.