haven't stopped yet. Economics really has changed my life and the whole way I see

私は経済学が好きだ

the world. What's so powerful about the discipline is just how much it shapes how

13の時からずっと勉強している

you understand everything around you.

経済学は私の世界に対する見方を変えた

- [Professor Alex Tabarrok] But perhaps you're asking, what's my incentive to learn

その強力な理論には

economics? Well, that's a great question. You've already hit on a key economic

人の世界観を変える力がある

insight, incentives. For example, why is the service at a local restaurant

なぜ経済学を学ぶのかって？

typically so much better than from the cable company?

良い質問だ　そこにもう経済学がある

- Or why do laws which supposedly protect endangered species,

インセンティブだ

sometimes end up with more of those animals being killed?

例えば

- Or why do big toy companies sometimes advocate for

なぜレストランのサービスは

regulations which raise their costs? Incentives are the key.

テレビ局のサービスよりいいのか？

- Another example might help us explain. Way back in 1787, the British

なぜ動物を保護するための法律は

government hired sea captains to ship convicted felons to Australia.

かえって多くの動物を殺すのか？

The conditions on those ships were just awful. On one voyage, more than one-third of the

なぜ大きなおもちゃ会社は

men died and the rest arrived beaten, starved and sick. The public was outraged,

コストの上がる規制を歓迎するのか？

newspapers called for better conditions, the clergy appealed to the captain's sense

インセンティブが鍵だ

of humanity, and British Parliament passed regulations requiring better treatment of

例を挙げて説明しよう

these prisoners. Unfortunately, those attempted solutions simply didn't work.

18世紀 イギリス政府は船を使い

The death rate remained shockingly high.

重罪犯をオーストラリアに送っていたが

- So Tyler, as a good economist. How would you solve this problem?

その船旅はひどいもので

- Well, there was one economist at the time who came up with a

途中で３人に１人が死に

novel solution. It was implemented and it basically worked. Instead of paying the

残りも多くが病気になった

captains for each prisoner who embarked to Australia, the government would pay the

社会問題となり 改善が求められた

captains only for the prisoners who arrived alive. Overnight, the incentives

聖職者は船長に人道を訴え

of the sea captains changed. The survival rate of the prisoners shot up to 99%.

議会は囚人の扱いに規制を設けた

As one observer put it, economy beat sentiment and benevolence.

だがこの策は意味をなさなかった

- So what's your incentive to learn economics? People hear that I'm

死亡率は高いままだった

an economist and they ask me about managing their money. And economics does

経済学者ならこれを解決できるね

have some lessons for investing in the stock market, but economics is much

当時の一流経済学者ノーベルは

broader than that. It's the study of human action, how people make choices and how

この問題を一瞬で解決した

they should make choices under scarcity. Economics will help you with your choices,

船の船長の給料を

whether picking a career, parenting a child, or deciding how much education is a

乗せる囚人の数に応じて払うのではなく

truly worthwhile investment. Overall, economics will give you a deeper

生きて到着した囚人の数に応じて

understanding of the key issues of our time.

払うように変えたのだ

- Economics can be hard. Retraining your brain to look at the world

これで船長のインセンティブが変わった

in a different way isn't always easy.

囚人の生存率は99％まで上がった

- But the reward is a new set of eyes to see the world.

経済学の完全勝利である

So are you ready to begin?

なぜ経済学を学ぶか