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　　The relationship between formal education and economic growth in poor countries is widely misunderstood by economists and politicians alike. Progress in both areas is undoubtedly necessary for the social, political and intellectual development of these and all other societies; however, the conventional view that education should be one of the very highest priorities for promoting rapid economic development in poor countries is wrong. We are fortunate that it is, because building new educational systems there and putting enough people through them to improve economic performance would require two or three generations. 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.

　　Ironically, the first evidence for this idea appeared in the United States. Not long ago, with the country entering a recessing and Japan at its pre�瞓ubble peak, the U.S. workforce was derided as poorly educated and one of primary cause of the poor U.S. economic performance. Japan was, and remains, the global leader in automotive�瞐ssembly productivity. 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.

　　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.

　　What is the real relationship between education and economic development? We have to suspect that continuing economic growth promotes the development of education even when governments don’t force it. After all, that’s how education got started. When our ancestors were hunters and gatherers 10,000 years ago, they didn’t have time to wonder much about anything besides finding food. Only when humanity began to get its food in a more productive way was there time for other things.

　　As education improved, humanity’s productivity potential increased as well. When the competitive environment pushed our ancestors to achieve that potential, they could in turn afford more education. 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. Thus poor countries might not be able to escape their poverty traps without political changes that may be possible only with broader formal education. A lack of formal education, however, doesn’t constrain the ability of the developing world’s workforce to substantially improve productivity for the foreseeable future. On the contrary, constraints on improving productivity explain why education isn’t developing more quickly there than it is.

　　貧窮國家中正規教育與經濟發展之間的關系為經濟學家及政治家們普遍誤解。毫無疑問，在這兩個方面都有所進步，對于這些國家及其他國家的社會、政治及學術發展而言是必要的，但是那種認為教育是促進貧窮國家經濟快速發展的重中之重的傳統觀點是錯誤的。我們慶幸這個觀念不對，因為創立新的教育體制，讓足夠多的人接受教育以推動經濟發展需要兩代或三代人來完成。一家研究機構的研究成果一再表明：所有國家的工人都可以進行在職培訓以大幅度提高生產率，從而提高生活水平。

　　具有諷刺意味的是，這一觀點的首個證據出現在美國。不久前，隨著美國經濟陷入衰退，日本正處于泡沫破滅前的高峰期，美國工人被嘲諷沒有受過良好教育，并且被認為這是美國經濟不景氣的主要原因之一。在全球，不管過去還是現在，日本一直是汽車組裝生產力的領袖。然而，研究表明豐田、尼桑和本田位于美國工廠的生產率大約是日本同行的95%，這是美國工人接受在職培訓的結果。

　　最近，在進行住戶建設檢查時，研究人員發現在德克薩斯州的休斯頓，盡管房地產行業的工作非常復雜，但是未受過教育的，英語不是母語的墨西哥工人總是能夠達到最佳的勞動生產率標準。

　　教育與經濟發展之間的關系到底如何?我們不得不懷疑，即使政府不強迫發展教育，經濟持續增長也會促進教育事業的發展。畢竟，教育就是那樣開始的。一萬年前當我們的祖先還在狩獵和采集野果時，除了尋找食物他們沒有時間想其它很多的東西。只有當人類能夠更高效地獲取食物時，才有時間做其它的事情。

　　隨著教育的進步，人類的生產潛力也增加了。當競爭的環境推動我們的祖先實現這一潛力，他們又可以獲得更多的教育機會。先進的經濟水平要求復雜的政治制度，越來越高的教育水平可能是這種復雜政治制度的必要的，但不是充分的條件。因此，如果沒有政治改革，貧窮國家可能無法擺脫其貧困陷阱，而政治改革則只能靠更廣泛的正規教育實現。但是，發展中國家的勞動力在可預見的未來持續提高生產力的能力沒有因缺乏正規教育而受到限制。相反，生產力的提高受到限制解釋了為什么教育的發展速度不是更快了。

　　第一段中心句：The relationship between formal education and economic growth in poor countries is widely misunderstood by economists and politicians alike. 貧窮國家中正規教育與經濟發展之間的關系為經濟學家及政治家們所誤解。

　　第二段中心句:Ironically, the first evidence for this idea appeared in the United States. 具有諷刺意味的是，這一觀點的首個證據出現在美國。

　　第三段中心句:More recently, while examining housing construction, the researchers discovered that illiterate, non�睧nglish�瞫peaking Mexican workers in Houston, Texas, consistently met best�瞤ractice labor productivity standards despite the complexity of the building industry’s work. 最近，在進行住戶建設檢查時，研究人員發現在德克薩斯州的休斯頓，盡管房地產行業的工作非常復雜，未受過教育的，英語不是母語的墨西哥工人總是能夠達到工作生產率的最高標準。

　　第四段中心句:What is the real relationship between education and economic development? 教育與經濟發展之間的關系到底如何?

　　第五段中心句: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. 先進的經濟水平要求復雜的政治制度，越來越高的教育水平可能是這種復雜政治制度的必要的，但不是充分的條件。

　　答案D B B C C(解析略)