权威杂志《经济学人》英文原版(整理完全版)Word下载.doc

权威杂志《经济学人》英文原版(整理完全版)Word下载.doc

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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,donotalwayssupportpastcliché

saboutwhatthedifferencesinquestionactuallyare.

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'

scultureisalsopartlytoblam