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The relationship between formal education and economic growth in poor countries is widely misunderstood by economists and politicians alike.

经济学家、政治家们普遍误解贫穷国家中正规教育与经济发展之间的关系。

Progress in both area is undoubtedly necessary for the social, political and intellectual development of these and all other societies;

毫无疑问，在这两个方面的进步对本国和其他国家的社会、政治、学术发展是非常必要的；

however, the conventional view that education should be one of the very highest priorities for promoting rapid economic development in poor countries is wrong.

但是，教育是促进贫穷国家经济快速发展的重中之重的传统观点是错误的。

We are fortunate that is it, because new educational systems there and putting enough people through them to improve economic performance would require two or three generations.

我们庆幸这个观念不对。因为创立新的教育体制，让足够多的人接受教育，从来推动经济发展。这个过程是需要两代或三代人来完成。

The findings of a research institution have consistently shown that workers in all countries can be trained on the job to achieve radical higher productivity and, as a result, radically higher standards of living.

一家研究机构的研究成果一再表明：全世界的工人都可以通过在职培训，大幅度提高生产率，从而提高生活水平。

Ironically, the first evidence for this idea appeared in the United States.

具有讽刺意味的是，这一观点的首个证据出现在美国。

Not long ago, with the country entering a recessing and Japan at its pre-bubble peak, the U. S. workforce was derided as poorly educated and one of primary cause of the poor U. S. economic performance.

不久前，随着美国经济陷入衰退，日本正处于泡沫破灭前的高峰期，美国工人被嘲讽没有受过良好教育。这被认为这是美国经济不景气的主要原因之一。

Japan was, and remains, the global leader in automotive-assembly productivity.

在全球，不管过去还是现在，日本一直是汽车组装生产力的领袖。

Yet the research revealed that the U. S. factories of Honda Nissan, and Toyota achieved about 95 percent of the productivity of their Japanese counterparts -- a result of the training that U. S. workers received on the job.

然而，研究表明丰田、尼桑和本田位于美国工厂的生产率大约是日本同行的95%，这是美国工人接受在职培训的结果。

More recently, while examining housing construction, the researchers discovered that illiterate, non-English- speaking Mexican workers in Houston, Texas, consistently met best-practice labor productivity standards despite the complexity of the building industry's work.

最近在进行住户建设检查时，研究人员发现：尽管房地产行业的工作非常复杂，但是在德克萨斯州的休斯顿，未受过教育，英语非母语的墨西哥工人总是能够达到最佳的劳动生产率标准。

What is the real relationship between education and economic development?

教育与经济发展之间的关系到底如何?

We have to suspect that continuing economic growth promotes the development of education even when governments don't force it.

我们不得不怀疑，即使政府不强迫发展教育，经济持续增长也会促进教育事业的发展。

After all, that's how education got started.

毕竟，教育就是那样开始的。

When our ancestors were hunters and gatherers 10, 000 years ago, they didn't have time to wonder much about anything besides finding food.

一万年前当我们的祖先还在狩猎和采集野果时，除了寻找食物他们没有时间想更多其它的东西。

Only when humanity began to get its food in a more productive way was there time for other things.

只有当人类能够更高效地获取食物时，才有时间做其它的事情。

As education improved, humanity's productivity potential increased as well.

随着教育的进步，人类的生产潜力也增加了。

When the competitive environment pushed our ancestors to achieve that potential, they could in turn afford more education.

当竞争的环境推动我们的祖先实现这一潜力，他们又可以获得更多的教育机会。

This increasingly high level of education is probably a necessary, but not a sufficient condition for the complex political systems required by advanced economic performance.

先进的经济水平要求复杂的政治制度。越来越高的教育水平可能是复杂政治制度的必要的条件，但不是充分的条件。

Thus poor countries might not be able to escape their poverty traps without political changes that may be possible only with broader formal education.

因此如果没有政治改革，贫穷国家可能无法摆脱其贫困陷阱，而政治改革则只能靠更广泛的正规教育实现。

A lack of formal education, however, doesn't constrain the ability of the developing world's workforce to substantially improve productivity for the forested future.

但是，正规教育的匮乏并未阻碍发展中国家劳动力在可预见的未来持续提高生产力。

On the contrary, constraints on improving productivity explain why education isn't developing more quickly there than it is.

相反，生产力提高受限解释了为什么发展中国家的教育发展速度没有生产力快。