People who consume alcohol earn significantly more at their jobs than non-drinkers, according to a US study that highlighted "social capital" gained from drinking.



The study concluded that drinkers earn 10 to 14 percent more than teetotalers(1), and that men who drink socially bring home an additional seven percent in pay.



"Social drinking builds social capital," said Edward Stringham, an economics professor at San Jose State University and co-author of the study with fellow researcher Bethany Peters.







"Social drinkers are out networking, building relationships, and adding contacts to their BlackBerries(2) that result in bigger paychecks."



"We created our hypothesis(3) through casual observation and examination of scholarly accounts(4)," the authors said.



The researchers said their empirical(5) survey backed up the theory, and said the most likely explanation is that drinkers have a wider range of social contacts that help provide better job and business opportunities.



"Drinkers may be able to socialize more with clients and co-workers, giving drinkers an advantage in important relationships," the researchers said.



"Drinking may also provide individuals with opportunities to learn people, business, and social skills."



They also said these conclusions provide arguments against policies aimed at curbing(6) alcohol use on university campuses and public venues.



"Not only do anti-alcohol policies reduce drinkers' fun, but they may also decrease earnings," the study said.



"One of the unintended(7) consequences of alcohol restrictions is that they push drinking into private settings(8). This occurred during the Alcohol Prohibition(9) of 1920-1933 and is happening on college campuses today. By preventing people from drinking in public, anti-alcohol policies eliminate one of the most important aspects of drinking: increased social capital."



The researchers found some differences in the economic effects of drinking among men and women. They concluded that men who drink earn 10 percent more than abstainers(10) and women drinkers earn 14 percent more than non-drinkers.



However, unlike men, who get a seven percent income boost from drinking in bars, women who frequent bars at least once per month do not show higher earnings than women drinkers who do not visit bars.



"Perhaps women increase social capital apart from drinking in bars," the researchers said in an effort to explain the gender gap.








根据美国一项专注"饮酒可以增加社会资本"的研究表明，喝酒的人的薪金远比不喝酒的人多。



研究认为，饮士们的薪金比禁酒主义者的高百分之10到14，在社交场合饮酒的人还能高出百分之7。



圣荷西州立大学经济学教授、本研究合著者爱德华斯特林汉姆说："社交饮酒能够建立社会资本。" 本文的另一位合著者是贝散尼彼得斯。



"社交饮士们更加外向、建立更广的关系网、向黑莓中加入更多联络信息，并因此得到更高收入。"



作者说："我们的假设来自平时的观察和对学术报告的研究。"



研究人员说他们经验主义的调查能够充分支持这个理论，并说最靠谱的解释是饮士们拥有更广阔的社交联络，有助于得到更好的工作和合作机会。



研究人员说："饮士们更容易融入客户和合作方，在维护重要的关系中有一定优势。"



"饮酒还能给人了解他人、工作和社交技巧的机会。"



他们也知道这样的结论与有关校园和公共场合酒精控制的政策相违背。



研究说："酒精控制政策剥夺的不仅是饮士们的乐趣，同时还包括收入。"



"酒精限制不可避免的结果之一是饮酒变成个人行为。在1920年到1933年禁酒时期，这样的事情已经发生过了，今天又在校园中重演。禁止人们在公共场合喝酒的政策抹煞了饮酒的一项最重要的功能：增加社交资本。"



研究人员发现男女饮酒对收入的影响是有分别的。男饮士比禁酒者多挣百分之10，女饮士则多百分之14。



在酒吧消费的男饮士比一般男饮士多挣百分之7，但是一个月至少去一次酒吧的女饮士们却没比不去酒吧的女饮士多挣什么。



研究人员试图解释性别上的差异："也许女人并非在酒吧中增加社交资本。"





中国国际广播电台 译








1. Teetotaler：绝对禁酒者



2. BlackBerries：Blackberry在美国是极受欢迎的一种多合一的无线数据及声讯工具，它的尺寸和PDA差不多，它是由美国的Research in Motion（RIM)公司生产的．它具有邮件，电话，无线上网，短信，即时讯息，企业信息等多种功能，它在商务人士当中似乎是必不可少的一种工具了．留意一下最新的好莱坞大片，你很可能会看到Blackberry的身影. 最近它开始在中国展开宣传攻势，试图占领中国市场，但是它的中文译名采用的是直译的方式，即黑莓。



3. Hypothesis：假设



4. Account：报告



5. Empirical：而非理论所指导的



6. Curb：约束、抑制



7. Unintended：非计划中的



8. Setting：布景、装饰



9. Prohibition：禁酒时期，美国第十八条修正案禁止生产和销售烈性酒实施的时期



10. Abstainer：戒酒者






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