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French economists
法国经济学家
Toulouse v Paris
图卢兹VS.巴黎
A tale of two French economists and their rival schools
这是一个关于两个法国经济学家和他们竞争院校的故事
IF PHILOSOPHERS in France are national treasures, economists are dreary specimens. But the discipline has some new star dust. One French economist, Jean Tirole, won the Nobel prize for economics. Another, Thomas Piketty, brought in rock-star quality when his book, “Capital”, became a bestseller in English. When the IMF recently listed the world's 25 best young economists, seven (including Mr Piketty) were French.
如果法国的哲学家们是国宝，那么经济学家们就是沉闷的标本。但是经济学这一学科又有一些新动静。一位法国经济学家珍·泰勒尔赢得了诺贝尔经济学奖。另外，托马斯·皮凯提也在其著作《21世纪资本论》大热之际博得了大众眼球。当国际货币基金组织最近列出世界最佳年轻经济学家，其中7名（包括皮凯提）是法国人。
An economist from Toulouse
图卢兹的一位经济学家
What explains this resurgence? One answer is the rivalry of two institutions that have tried to defy the fragmented and divided world of French higher education: the Toulouse School of Economics (TSE) and the Paris School of Economics (PSE). Each has rebranded itself with an English name, created a private fund-raising foundation, recruited worldwide, and introduced English as the teaching language. Each has a claim to excellence: PSE (where Mr Piketty is a professor) ranks seventh among economics departments worldwide, and TSE (chaired by Mr Tirole) is 11th, according to the RePEc ranking used by economists.
为何会有这种复兴呢？一种说法是因为两大机构试图对抗法国散乱的高等教育领域的竞争：图卢兹经济学院（TSE）和巴黎经济学院（PSE）。每一所学院都重新为自己起了英文名，创建一个私人融资基金，在全球范围内招募师资，并且引进英语作为课堂教学语言。每一所学院都声称自己卓越非凡：根据经济学家们推崇的RePEc 排名，PSE（皮凯提在此任职教授）在全球经济部门中位列第七，而TSE（由泰勒尔领导的学院）位列第11。
The two have chosen different paths. As part of a university, TSE is more recognisably a campus and teaches undergraduates (it cannot select them until the third year), while most of its postgraduates are foreign. The school's strengths are industrial economics, market regulation and economic theory. By contrast, PSE groups various grandes écoles, the selective elite top crust of French higher education, does not have a single campus (work on a new site is due to finish in 2016), and accepts only graduates. Besides economic theory, its research expertise is in public economics and statistics.
这两所学院选择了不同的道路。作为一所大学的一部分，TES更多地被视为一个学院并且教授本科生（它在大三之前不能挑选教授对象），同时它的研究生大多是留学生。学院的优势是产业经济学、市场监管和经济理论。相比之下，PSE团队的多样化的grandes écoles，即有选择性的法国高等教育精英课授教程，并不只施行在一个学院（2016年完成后选择新任地点），并且只接收毕业生。除了经济理论，它的研究专业是公共经济学和统计学。
As a university, Toulouse has suffered in France from a sort of academic second-cousin syndrome. But the Nobel has put an end to that. A vast portrait of the modest Mr Tirole was strung across Toulouse's town hall. His students printed T-shirts to celebrate his triumph. Rivalry between the two schools is no bad thing. “As an economist, I like competition,” says Christian Gollier, TSE's director. “There is room for more than one prestigious economics department in France.”
在法国，图卢兹作为一所大学患上了一种学术上的弗拉恩综合症。但是诺贝尔奖治好了这个病。谦逊的泰勒尔的巨大肖像画贯穿了图卢兹的市政厅。他的学生们印了T恤来庆祝泰勒尔的胜利。两所学校的竞争并不是什么坏事。“作为一名经济学家，我喜欢竞争，”TSE的主任克里斯蒂安·格里耶称：“在法国远不只有一所享有声望的经济学部。”
More than anything, TSE and PSE show how to get around rules. French higher education divides universities (non-selective) from grandes écoles(highly competitive); encourages uniformity (university lecturers are civil servants); and forbids university tuition fees. “The French system is crippled by rigidities,” notes Pierre-Yves Geoffard, PSE's director. “But these prompt new ideas, as a way of working around the system .”
最重要的是，TSE和PSE展现了如何绕过规则。法国高等教育将普通大学（无选择性和grandes écoles（高竞争性）分开；鼓励一致性（大学讲师是公务员）；并且禁止大学学收费。“法国的教育体系因此硬性要求而畸形发展，”PSE的主任皮埃尔·伊夫·吉欧法德。“但是，作为一种围绕此系统工作的方式，这些缺陷同时也激发了新的想法。”译者：邵夏沁 校对：张娣
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