職場雙語閱讀：美國何處創業最活躍

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If you want to break the ice at a corporate seasonalparty in America these days, try popping thisrevealing question: which part of the US has the highest proportion of entrepreneurship?

如果你想在最近美國某個企業的季節性派對上打破冷場局面，可以試着問一下這個會暴露真相的問題：美國哪裏的創業人士比例最高?

“Silicon Valley” would be a predictable, and understandable, answer. After all, in recentyears, the San Francisco region has been an epicentre of US innovation. Mark Zuckerberg, thefounder of Facebook, seems to epitomise the entrepreneurial dream; particularly since hisrecent announcement that he plans to donate most of his largesse to social causes.

“硅谷”或許是可以預料也可以理解的答案。畢竟，最近幾年這個舊金山地區已成爲美國創新的核心地帶。Facebook創始人馬克丠克伯格(Mark Zuckerberg)似乎是創業夢的象徵——尤其是自從他最近宣佈計劃捐出多數財產用於社會慈善事業以來。

But here is a curious little detail of America’s economy today: if you want to understand thereal nature of entrepreneurial activity, do not look to Silicon Valley or Mr Zuckerberg. Thebiggest hotbed of urban entrepreneurship, as measured by the number of small companiesper head, is now New York, not the West Coast, according to research by the KauffmanFoundation, a think-tank. Boston sits in second place in terms of “entrepreneurship”, followedby Providence, Rhode Island. Meanwhile, San Francisco is fourth, just ahead of Miami in Floridaand Portland in Oregon. Main Street is giving the Valley more than a run for its money.

不過，今天的美國經濟中卻存在一個奇怪的細節：如果你想了解創業活動的真正特點，不要把眼光放在硅谷或扎克伯格身上。根據智庫考夫曼基金會(Kauffman Foundation)的研究，以人均小企業數計算，如今城市創業的最大溫牀是紐約而不是西海岸。以“創業”而言，波士頓位居第二位，排在其後的是羅得島州的普羅維登斯。同時，舊金山排在第四位，在佛羅里達州的邁阿密和俄勒岡州的波特蘭之前。紐約緬街(Main Street)正向硅谷發起嚴峻挑戰。

Geography is not the only surprise. The word “start-up” tends to conjure up images of baby-faced, hoody-wearing youngsters such as Mr Zuckerberg. But the Kauffman data suggest thatthe average age of entrepreneurs and small business owners is far higher — and rising. Peopleaged 45-54 now own 32 per cent of small businesses, the engines of economic activity and jobcreation.

地理位置不是唯一令人驚異之處。“初創”一詞往往會讓人頭腦中浮現出像扎克伯格這樣一臉稚氣、身穿連帽衫的年輕人形象。然而考夫曼基金會的數據卻顯示，創業者和小企業主的平均年齡不僅要高得多，而且還在不斷上升。32%的小企業由年齡在45歲到54歲之間的人士持有，而小企業正是經濟活動和創造就業的發動機。

These middle-aged entrepreneurs are the biggest single cohort among business owners. Thosefollowing on behind, the 20-34 year olds — Mr Zuckerberg’s cohort — own just 16 per cent ofsmall businesses, down from 28 per cent when the series started in 1997. Start-up activityamong the younger cohort is also falling, as it increases among the middle aged. Meanwhile, theeducational qualifications of entrepreneurs is rising: a majority now hold a graduate immigrants now own 20 per cent of all small businesses, twice the level in 1997.

這些中年創業者是企業主中最大的羣體。相比之下，跟隨其後的20到34歲羣體(扎克伯格所在的羣體)只擁有16%的小企業，大大低於1997年該系列調查開始時28%的比例。較年輕羣體的創業活動也在減少，而中年人創業活動卻在增加。與此同時，創業者的受教育程度也在上升：如今多數人擁有研究生學位。此外，目前外來移民持有所有小企業中的20%，是1997年的兩倍。

What accounts for these trends? Data on small business activity in general — andentrepreneurship in particular — are notoriously patchy. However, Kauffman suggests thatthe heavy burden of 猀琀甀攙攀渀琀 debt may be deterring young people from becomingentrepreneurs. The broader ageing of the American population is also affecting the 猀琀愀琀椀猀琀椀挀猀.

對於這些趨勢應該如何解釋?有關總體的小企業活動的數據(尤其是有關創業活動的數據)是出了名地東拼西湊。不過，考夫曼基金會表示，學生債務的沉重負擔也許正在妨礙年輕人走上創業道路。從更大的層面上說，美國人口的老化也在影響這一統計結果。

The more intriguing issue is whether the pattern of older entrepreneurs also reflects thechanging profile of work. Digitisation is wiping out swaths of once-secure middle-classcorporate jobs, tossing out middle-aged employees; indeed, the Oxford Martin school ofbusiness forecasts that half of all US jobs will be replaced by robots in the next two icans are living longer and their pension provision is shrinking. Some of this middle-agedentrepreneurial activity, in other words, is probably sparked by necessity as much as byactive choice — a consequence of economic insecurity as well as economic freedom.

更有趣的問題是，創業者的高齡化趨勢是否也反映了就業模式的變化。數字化正在導致大量曾經很穩定的中產階級企業工作崗位消失，將中年員工拋出企業。事實上，牛津大學馬丁學院(Oxford Martin School)預計，在今後20年內，美國半數工作崗位將由機器人取代。美國人的壽命正在增加，他們的養老金卻在縮水。換句話說，這種中年創業活動的一部分既可能是自主選擇，也可能是迫不得已——這不僅是經濟自由的結果，同樣也是經濟不穩定的結果。

That, in turn, may have bigger policy implications, particularly given the 爀椀猀椀渀最 level ofincome inequality. One encouraging piece of news in the data is that overall entrepreneurshiprose last year, after declining during the

反過來說，這也許會帶來更大的政策上的啓示——尤其是考慮到收入不平等的不斷加劇。在這些數據中，一個令人鼓舞的消息是，在經歷了金融危機期間的下滑之後，去年創業活動總體增加了。但是，它依然低於幾十年前的水平。不過，目前美國政策制定者有許多辦法可以提高創業活動的水平。

Great Financial Crisis. But it remains below the levels seen a couple of decades ago. There is agreat deal that Amer-ican 瀀漀氀椀挀礀洀愀欀攀爀猀 could do now, however, to raise thoseentrepreneurship levels.

不應該僅僅談及減輕大企業的稅負(這正是華盛頓爭論集中的領域)，而應該將更多努力用於精簡美國噩夢般複雜的小企業稅法。醫療保險的提供也應該簡化。此外，小企業還需要有更多融資渠道，尤其是因爲，2008年後金融改革導致的一個非常不幸的後果是，銀行如今非常不願意爲規模較小的企業提供資金。

Instead of just talking about lowering taxes for big corporations (which is where the debate isfocused in Washington), there should be more effort made to streamline America’snightmarishly complex small business tax code. Healthcare provision should also besimplified. Small business also requires a wider range of financing channels, particularly sinceone very unfortunate consequence of the post-2008 financial reforms is that banks are nowvery unwilling to provide funding for smaller companies.

此外，文化上的變革也是必要的。最值得注意的是，美國政策制定者(和選民)需要認識到，不是今天所有成功的創業者都穿着連帽衫，或者沐浴在加利福尼亞州的陽光下。相反，多數人不是這樣。爲應對傳統企業崗位的消失或中產階級分崩離析的詛咒，想辦法提倡和支持較年長的羣體創業也將是關鍵的一步。這也會讓經濟更加健康，季節性派對的氣氛更加輕鬆愉快。

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