经济学人 | 津巴布韦的养老金为什么要以牛来计？

(本文选自《经济学人》20220514期)

背景介绍：

养老金又称为退休金，是一种最主要的社会养老保险待遇，它保障着我们退休后的基本生活需要。如今，世界各国都有了较为完备的养老金体系，然而一些国家的民众并不愿意向政府缴纳养老金，其中就包括津巴布韦。在津巴布韦，一家提供以牛计养老金的公司却受到了民众的欢迎……

Why a Zimbabwean firm offers pensions denominated in cows

为什么津巴布韦的一家公司要提供以牛计的养老金？

Ruminants are inflation-proof

反刍动物可以不受通胀影响

Kelvin Chamunorwa’s mother was a middle manager at a bank in Zimbabwe. She worked there for 25 years, steadily contributing to a pension. 

凯尔文·查穆诺瓦的母亲是津巴布韦一家银行的中层管理人员。她在那里工作了25年，一直在定期缴纳养老金。

But horrendous inflation, which reached an annual rate of 231,000,000% in mid-2008, wiped out her savings. When she retired, her pension was so small it was barely worth collecting.

但可怕的通货膨胀（通胀率在2008年年中达到了231,000,000%）使她的积蓄化为乌有。当她退休时，养老金少到几乎不值得领取。

So Mr Chamunorwa, an actuary trained in Britain, started a company, Nhaka Life Assurance, to sell inflation-proof pensions to Zimbabweans. 

因此，在英国接受了精算师培训的查穆诺瓦创办了一家名为 Nhaka Life Assurance 的公司，向津巴布韦人出售抗通胀养老金。

The pensions are not denominated in Zimbabwe dollars, since they quickly evaporate, nor in American dollars, since many Zimbabweans are struggling to obtain any.

这种养老金既不是以津巴布韦币来计（因为很快就会贬值到一文不值），也不是以美元来计的（因为许多津巴布韦人都很难获得美元）。

Instead, they are denominated in cows, which the government can’t print. Savers, typically wage-earners such as teachers, chip in cash, which Nhaka immediately turns into cattle. The assets grow by breeding. When a policy matures, clients can demand payment in cows or the cash equivalent.

这种养老金是以牛来计的，牛并非政府通过印刷而能创造的。诸如教师之类的工薪阶层存入现金，Nhaka 公司便将钱换算成牛。这些资产通过养殖牛而得以增值。当缴纳到达一定年限时，客户就可以领取以牛或等值现金来计的养老金。

Zimbabweans have long seen cattle as a store of wealth. Mr Chamunorwa jokes that he has merely updated an old idea and added livestock insurance. His scheme is especially suited to a country where savers have lost all confidence in conventional finance. 

一直以来，津巴布韦人都将牛视为一种保值工具。查穆诺瓦开玩笑说，他只不过将一种旧的观念进行了升级，推出了牲畜保险。他的方案特别适用于一个储户对传统金融体系完全失去信心的国家。

The only way to rebuild trust is to offer people “things they can touch and see”, he says. Nhaka holds viewing days when some of its 70,000 clients can visit the cows.

他表示，重建信任的唯一途径是给人们提供“他们看得见、摸得着的东西”。Nhaka 将举办观牛日，让其7万名客户中的一些人可以前去参观奶牛。

Mr Chamunorwa also likes to get away from his office in Harare, the capital, and visit them. At Nhaka’s farm in Selous, 75km away, he watches newly weaned calves hungrily munching hay, and offers his actuarial opinion. 

查穆诺瓦也喜欢走出位于首都哈拉雷的办公室，前往75公里外的塞洛斯看看这些奶牛。在公司的农场里，他看着刚断奶的小牛狼吞虎咽地咀嚼着干草，从精算师的角度给出了意见。

“Most of these, we’ll be putting a bull on them in 12 months’ time,” he says. That will be “a compounding of the investment return”.

他表示：“我们将在12个月后对这些奶牛进行配种受孕。” 这可是“投资回报的复利”。

(红色标注词为重难点词汇) 

重难点词汇：

denominate [dɪˈnɑːmɪneɪt] vt. 为……命名；把……称作……

wipe out 消灭；彻底摧毁

wean [wiːn] vt. 使断奶；使断念；使放弃