Soon after the global financial meltdown, several leading economists called on world leaders to learn from the crisis and rethink one of the conventional indicators of economic development: gross domestic product (GDP).
全球经济下滑不久时，一些著名的经济学家呼吁世界领导人通过经济危机，重新思考经济发展的传统指标----国民生产总值
GDP, they pointed out, measures economic activity, not economic benefit.
他们指出，GDP只能衡量经济活动，不能衡量经济效益
"If we have poor measures, what we strive to do (say, increase GDP) may actually contribute to a worsening of living standards," Nobel Prize laureate Joseph E Stiglitz wrote in an article titled GDP Fetish.
诺贝尔奖得主J 在其题目为《GDP盲目崇拜》的文章中写到：如果我们缺乏衡量的尺度，那么我们所努力做的（增长GDP）可能实际上会导致生活水准的恶化。
Unfortunately, GDP continues to be used as a convenient indicator for measuring national, and especially regional, economic performance.
不幸的是，GDP一直被用做测量国家甚至地区经济表现的简便的指标。
Internationally, there has been a clamor in the media this week about China "officially" overtaking Japan as the world's second largest economy. However, most Chinese media have taken the news with a grain of salt, pointing out that while China's GDP reached $5.88 trillion last year, its per capita GDP (less than $4,000) lags far behind that of most developed nations.
就中国正式超越日本成为世界第二大经济实体一事，上周在国际的媒体中击起轩然大波，而大多数的中国媒体却持保留态度，指出，中国的GDP去年达到了5.88万亿美元，可以其人均GDP（低于4000美元）远低于大多数的发达 国家。
Within China, however, the obsession with GDP continues and regional GDP figures are still eulogized, with all but Shanghai registering double-digit growth.
然而，在中国对GDP及地方GDP数字的追求仍然被追捧，除了上海外，都是双位数的增长。
"Jiangsu's GDP in 2010 surpassed 4 trillion yuan ($607 billion)", boasts the official Jiangsu provincial government website in big, bold, blue type on Wednesday.
周三时，江苏省政府的官方网站上用了大字体的，粗体的，蓝色的字，引以为傲的说：江苏2010年GDP超过4万亿元（6070亿美元）
There is no denying that the Chinese economy has continued to grow despite all types of challenges, such as natural disasters. Every region has its own achievements to celebrate, in addition to double-digit growth.
这并没有否认中国经济的持续发展尽管还有各种类型的挑战，比如自然灾害。每个地区除了双数的增长外，还有其自己的成绩要庆祝。
Jiangsu's per capita GDP last year reached $7,700. It ranked first in the nation in the scope and amount of foreign direct investment, as well as in the amount of scientific and technological innovation and achievement.
江苏省去年的人均GDP达到了7700美元，在外商投资的范围及数量，及科技革新及成果都列全国第一。
Guangdong province amassed more than 4 trillion yuan in GDP last year; its per capita GDP reached $7,000. It also leads the nation in the number of high-tech development zones, the number of new companies listed on the stock exchange, tourism revenues, and the combined capacity of nuclear power plants in operation and under construction.
广东省去年GDP值超过4万亿元，其人均GDP达到了7000美元。同时其在高新技术发展区的数量上，股市交易上新注册的公司数量，旅游收入，在运行及建设核电厂的整合能力方面都居首
Meanwhile, the province enabled 10.4 million farmers to get access to clean drinking water and helped upgrade toilets in 1 million farming households.
同时，该省使1040万农民喝上了纯净水，帮助1百万家庭使用上了抽水马桶。
But as Simon Kuznets, the inventor of GDP, warned in 1934: "The welfare of a nation can scarcely be inferred from a measurement of national income."
但是，GDP的发明者SIMON，在1934年警告说：一个国家的福利基本可以推断出国家收入的测量
However, there are projects that while benefitting some people and enhance GDP have negative consequences as well.
然而，有一些可以利民及提高GDP的项目，同时有消极影响。
In Jiangsu's Xiangshui county, development of a chemical industrial park several years ago brought the county much-needed foreign direct investment and tax revenues. However, local people live in constant fear after an explosion at the park killed and wounded more than 50 people in 2007.
在江苏响水县，管委会化学工业园很多年前开始发展，给国家吸引来了大量所需的外商直接投资和税收。然而当地的人都生活在恐惧中自己2007年一次爆炸死伤50多人。
In November last year, some 30 workers were poisoned as a result of a chlorine leak in one of the plants in the park. Early in the morning of Feb 10, residents heard that another explosion was imminent and attempted to flee. Four people were killed and dozens wounded in the ensuing chaos.
去年11月，近30几名工人因园区一工厂氯泄露中毒。2月10日一早居民听说还有一场爆炸，大家试图逃跑。在随后的骚乱中，有四人死亡，很多人受伤。
Nanfang Daily reported last month that when septic tanks were installed in residential areas to upgrade toilets, the waste water was discharged directly into the waterways near residents' homes.
南方日报上月报导，当在居民区为抽水马桶安装化粪池，废水被直接排放到居民家庭附件的水道里。
"The once flowing rivers are dead; the water is dirty and polluted," the newspaper reported.
曾经流动的河水都成了死水，河水又脏被污染了，报纸称。
New roads linking villages to towns and cities have immediate economic benefits. In many cases, however, parts of the waterways are filled in during construction.
新修的道路把农村城镇城市相联，带来了直接的经济效益。然而许多项目中，在建设中把一些水道添充了。
While GDP continues to grow, these seemingly small oversights not only compromise people's pursuit of health and happiness.
当GDP继续增加时，那些看上去小的疏忽不但在人们追求的健康面前妥协，还有幸福。
As China finalizes its next five-year plan, it should ask leading economists and statisticians to devise better economic indicators that more accurately depict the nation's social and economic performance.
当中国完成了其下一个五年计划，应该请知名的经济学家及统计学家制定更好的经济指标，可以更精确的描述社会和经济的表现。
The author is assistant editor-in-chief of China Daily. E-mail: lixing@chinadaily.com.cn
作者是中国日报的副主编
(China Daily 02/18/2011 page8)
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