From VOA Learning English, this is the Economics Report.
这里是美国之音慢速英语经济报道。
Many immigrants send small amounts of money - called "remittances" - home to friends and family. But those small amounts of money together add up to a lot, consider that there are about 200 million international migrants.
许多移民向家乡的朋友和家人寄去被称为汇款的小额资金。但考虑到全球有大约2亿国际移民,这些小额资金累加起来数目也颇为可观。
In 2013, migrants around the world sent $400 billion back to their home countries, that is much more than official aid to many countries. For some nations, it is the biggest provider of foreign exchange.
2013年,世界各地的移民把4千亿美元寄回了他们的祖国,这一数字远远超出了提供给许多国家的官方援助。对一些国家来说,这些汇款是最大的外汇来源。
Jean Claude Kazadi and his wife Myriam came to the United States from the Democratic Republic of Congo. They quickly began sending money home after they arrived. They wanted to help family members left behind.
让·克洛德·卡扎迪(Jean Claude Kazadi)和他的妻子米莉恩(Myriam)从刚果民主共和国来到美国。他们抵达美国之后很快就开始给家里寄钱。他们想要帮助留下来的家人。
"We believe in supporting each other. We believe in supporting our parents, specifically, and we believe in supporting our brothers and sisters," Kazadi said.
卡扎迪:“我们认为要互相扶持,特别是赡养父母。同时我们认为要扶持兄弟姐妹。”
Jean Claude Kazadi is a doctor who works on HIV Aids for Catholic Relief Services in Maryland. He often visits the Democratic Republic of Congo, and he hopes he is helping Africans with his work. But he knows the $400 he sends to his parents every month is important.
卡扎迪是一名医生,他在马里兰州的天主教救济会从事艾滋病相关工作。他经常访问刚果共和国,他希望通过自己的工作帮助非洲人。但他知道,他给父母每月寄去的400美元非常重要。
Economist Adolfo Barajas of the International Monetary Fund(IMF) has studied remittances for ten years. He has seen their effects on economies.
国际货币基金组织(简称IMF)的经济学家阿道夫·巴拉哈斯(Adolfo Barajas)研究汇款已经数十年。他看到了汇款对经济的影响。
"They have been growing tremendously from 1990 to 2010; they grew more than sevenfold," Barajas said.
巴拉哈斯:“从1990年到2010年,汇款一直在大幅增长,它们增长了7倍以上。”
Mr. Barajas says a huge migration has driven this flow of money to countries around the world. But he says there are problems with governments receiving large amounts of money. They may use the money less effectively.
巴拉哈斯说,人口大量迁移推动了这种流动资金流向世界各国。但他表示,接收大量这种资金的国家面临各种问题。他们可能无法高效地利用这笔资金。
Economists have said that remittances help families who receive them by increasing their income. But there is a concern that the income into a national economy will cause its money to increase in value. In turn, a country's exports can become more costly and less competitively.
经济学家说,收到汇款的家庭的收入增加,汇款对他们有帮助。但人们担心,这些收入注入到一个国家的经济,将会导致该国货币升值。反过来,该国的出口将变得更加昂贵和缺乏竞争力。
However, economists agree that remittances affect the receiving country's economy in good ways. Dilip Ratha is a remittance expert with the World Bank. He says remittances help improve people's lives.
然而经济学家一致认同,汇款对接收国有着好的方面的影响。迪利普·拉塔(Dilip Ratha)是世界银行的汇款专家。他说,汇款有助于改善人们的生活。
"They provide incomes, they provide a lifeline for people, they reduce poverty, they provide funding for business investment, human capital investments, education, health," Ratha said.
拉塔:“它们提供了收入,为人们提供了生命线,为企业投资、人力资本投资、教育和卫生提供了经费。”
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Economists say that private investors leave when contries are in conflict. But Dilip Ratha says remitters like the Kazadis of the Democratic Republic of Congo continue to send assistance.
经济学家表示,当国家陷入战乱,私人投资者将撤离。但拉塔说,像刚果民主共和国的卡扎迪一家会继续寄出援助款项。
"Because that is precisely when the needs of the families left behind increase. And to meet those needs, migrants send money home," says Ratha.
拉塔:“因为恰好这时留下来的家人的需求有所增加。为了满足这些需求,移民们会寄钱回家。”
For Myriam and Jean Claude Kazadi, it is a simple case of showing their parents that they have not forgotten them.
对于米莉恩和卡扎迪来说,这还能向父母表明,他们没有忘记父母。