新加坡被稱作20世紀最成功的致富傳奇。
"I don't think any other economy," says Linda Lim, an economist at the University of Michigan, "even the other Asian tigers, have that a good a statistical record of rapid growth, full employment, with very good social indicators — life expectancy, education, housing, etc. — in the first 20 years," she says.
我不能想到別家的經(jīng)濟,”美國密歇根大學的經(jīng)濟學家琳達·林說道,“甚至是其他的亞洲四小龍,在第一個20年里,有這么快的數(shù)據(jù)增長、完善的就業(yè)和十分齊全了的社會指標——壽命、教育、住房等等。”
Lee Kuan Yew, the man who founded modern-day Singapore and died last week at age 91, led that economic transformation. One of the most influential leaders of the 20th century, Lee was an autocrat whose tiny island-state became one of the richest places in the world, and a role model for other governments in Asia and beyond.
李光耀——成就了如今的新加坡的男人,于上周逝世,享年91歲,是他成就了新加坡的經(jīng)濟轉(zhuǎn)型。作為20世紀最有影響力的領導人之一,李光耀讓這一小塊土地成為了世界上最富有的地方之一,并為亞洲和其他國家的政府樹立了榜樣。
Singapore has little land and no natural resources. But after its independence in 1965, the former British colony was transformed into a major manufacturing and financial center.
新加坡土地面積少,沒有自然資源。但是自1965年獨立以來,這塊前英國殖民地向制造業(yè)和金融中心轉(zhuǎn)變。
Conservatives see Singapore as a free-market success story. Low taxes, few capital restrictions and liberal immigration policies have made it one of the most cosmopolitan places on Earth.
保守黨將新加坡視作一個自由市場的成功案例。低水平稅收、資本管制和自由的移民政策,讓其成為世界上最為四海一家的地方。
"They have very, very free trade, very low tariffs [and] very few non-tariff barriers," says Josh Kurlantzick of the Council on Foreign Relations.
“他們有著極其、極其自由的貿(mào)易,很低的關(guān)稅,而且基本沒什么關(guān)稅壁壘,” 外交關(guān)系委員會的喬什·科蘭滋克說道。
But like Deng Xiaoping's China, which emulated many of Singapore policies, Lee's government played a big role in the economy.
但是正如同鄧小平發(fā)展的新中國——模仿了很多新加坡的政策,李光耀政府在經(jīng)濟發(fā)展中也扮演了至關(guān)重要的角色。
"Some of the biggest sectors domestically — shipbuilding, electronics, banking, and now they're very involved in private banking — got their start because Lee Kuan Yew and the government specially directed state funds into those areas," Kurlantzick says.
“一些大型產(chǎn)業(yè)均為國有——制船業(yè)、電子、銀行,而如今他們也滲入了私人銀行——這么做是因為李光耀極其政府特別規(guī)劃國家基金進入這些領域,” 科蘭滋克說道。
The government also provided social services like housing and health care, in a way liberal economists applauded.
政府還提供社會福利,比如住房和社保,在某種程度上自由主義經(jīng)濟學家夸夸不絕。
Singapore today is a mature economy that, like Japan, has seen its growth slow. Kurlantzick says it struggles with a problem familiar to the West.
如今的新加坡是一個成熟的經(jīng)濟體系,如同日本,其經(jīng)濟增長已經(jīng)減慢。科蘭滋克稱,它和其他西方國家一樣陷入相同的問題。
"People live well, but the per capita GDP conceals a high level of inequality, so that is definitely a major issue in Singapore today and one of the things that the current prime minister has focused on," he says.
“人們安居樂業(yè),但是人均GDP隱藏了高度不等平的問題,所以這必然是如今新加坡的主要問題,而且也是當今的新加坡總理面對的問題之一。”他說。
But Singapore remains a big financial center with a high standard of living, and Lee Kuan Yew is remembered as the man who made its prosperity possible.
但是新加坡仍然是生活水平極高的金融中心,而李光耀則被銘記——是這一繁榮的最大功臣。