酷兔英语


It's long been known that your happiness depends less on how much wealth you have than on how much you have relative to other people a phenomenon economists call 'keeping up with the Joneses.'


人们很早就知道,一个人的快乐与自己拥有的财富多少关系不太大,但与自己比别人多拥有多少财富的关系很大。经济学家把这种攀比现象叫做"赶上邻居琼斯"(keeping up with the Joneses)。



One study of more than 7,000 people in the U.S. found that the more money the richest person in your community makes, and the more neighbors you have who earn more money than you, the less satisfied you will feel with your life overall. A survey of nearly 5,200 British workers showed that the less money they made relative to those with comparable jobs, the less happy they felt about their own work and earnings. And anyone who's ever visited a Wall Street firm around Christmastime knows that the only thing that can ruin a multimillion-dollar bonus is the rumor that someone else got a bigger one.


对7,000多名美国人的一项调查发现,你所在社区最有钱的人拥有的财富越多,赚钱比你多的邻居的数量越多,你对自己的生活就越不满意。对近5,200名英国在职人员的一项调查显示,他们与从事同类可比工作的人相比,赚的钱越少,就会对其工作和收入的满意度越低。圣诞节期间,如果你去一家华尔街的公司了解一下就会发现,唯一让一位刚拿到几百万美元奖金的人感到沮丧的事情,就是别人比他拿得更多。



Now the keeping-up-with-the-Joneses effect has been documented in stock portfolios in China. The researchers have named the Chinese version 'keeping up with the Wangs.'


现在,攀比效应也在中国人的股票选择上显现出来。研究人员将这种中国版的攀比现象叫做"赶上邻居王先生"(keeping up with the Wangs)。



Compared to investors in the poorer provinces of China, those in the wealthiest provinces put more of their portfolios in stocks headquartered nearby (presumably because they aren't tainted by proximity to the rural areas). Wealthier Chinese investors also trade more in smaller stocks (perhaps because that makes them feel they are 'in the know' relative to people who aren't familiar with these names).


与不太富裕省份的人相比,几个最富裕省份的中国人投资股票时喜欢选择总部就在附近的上市企业,这可能是因为他们对偏远地区的上市公司不熟悉。较富有的中国投资者还喜欢买卖较小市值的股票,这可能是因为他们觉得这样才显得自己比别人"更知晓内幕"。



All this demand appears to have driven smaller stocks to steep prices, although high valuations haven't discouraged wealthier Chinese from continuing to invest. Quite the contrary: That seems to brand these stocks as a kind of luxury good, making them still more desirable.


这种需求导致小股票的价格一路上扬,但其高估值并没有吓退有钱的中国人。恰恰相反,高估值似乎给这些股票带上了一顶奢侈品的帽子,让它们变得更抢手。



Of course, getting swept up in the same rat race for financial success that Westerners have long run is no guarantee of happiness or a good portfolio.


西方人长期以来攀比财富,以金钱论英雄,现在中国人也步上了后尘。然而,这种攀比竞赛并不能保证能够带来幸福,也不能保证就能选到好股票。



Nearly 70% of consumers surveyed in the richest provinces in China Shanghai, Beijing, Guangdong, Tianjin, Zhejiang and Jiangsu agree with the statement that 'owning luxury goods demonstrates my success and social status.'


在对上海、北京、广东、浙江和江苏等最富裕省份和直辖市的消费者进行的一项调查中,近70%的受访者同意一个观点,即"拥有奢侈品能够彰显一个人取得的成就和社会地位"。



Strikingly, however, people in China's richest provinces already report lower levels of happiness than those in the poorer areas. Extravagant housing prices, traffic jams, pollution and the pressure of constant social comparisons will do that to you. Just ask anyone in Shanghai or L.A.


然而,令人吃惊的是:在这些最富裕的地方,人们的幸福感却要比其他地方的人低。房价高企、交通堵塞、污染严重和攀比压力,这些都让他们很难感到幸福。不信,你问问上海人或住在美国洛杉矶的人,回答都差不多。



Have you bought consumer goods or invested in a stock or fund just to keep up with the Joneses?


你有没有购买奢侈品,或者投资小股票,目的就是为了"赶上邻居琼斯"?



Jason Zweig