酷兔英语


When it comes to saving, no age-group has experienced a bigger change of heart than young adults.


到存款,没有哪个年龄段的人比现在年轻的成年人在思想上经历了更大起伏。



Measures of saving rates among young adults under 35 show they're suddenly saving a whole lot more. According to Moody's Analytics, one measure, the four-quarter moving average of the saving rate of young adults -- which smoothes out volatility -- started dropping in the late 1990s and hit roughly -15% in 2006 -- before climbing higher during the 2008 global financialcrisis and its economic aftermath to over 5%. It's now around 2% or 3%, as of the third quarter of 2012.


衡量35岁以下成年人储蓄率的指标显示,他们突然开始疯狂存钱。据经济研究机构Moody's Analytics统计,年轻人储蓄率的四季度移动均值从上世纪90年代末开始下滑,2006年达到负的15%左右,随后在2008年全球金融经济危机期间有所攀升,一度突破5%。截至2012年第三季度,年轻人储蓄率四季度移动均值约为2%或3%。该指标在一定程度上消除了波动性影响。



No other age group has seen so violent a turn from borrowing to saving. ( See related article.) Sure, people between 35 and 44 also increased saving during the recession, but their about-face wasn't as dramatic. Young people now save roughly as much as people 35 to 44 -- and nearly as much as those between 45 and 54.


其他年龄段就没有出现如此强烈的从借钱到储蓄的态度变化。当然,35岁至44岁的人在经济不景气的时候也增加了储蓄,但他们的态度转变没有这么剧烈。年轻人目前在存钱方面与35岁至44岁年龄段差不多一样,甚至接近45岁至54岁年龄段的人。



The trend suggests the recession may have made some young people more 'risk averse,' economists' jargon for less willing to take risks by, say, borrowing. It's likely that many young people are having a harder time getting credit, especially those with super- high student-loan burdens. But young adults are also seeing their incomes fall, and generally make less money than older people. So they may now -- post financialcrisis and recession -- find themselves less able to service debt. That, in turn, may reduce their demand for credit.


这个趋势表明,经济衰退可能令一些年轻人的"避险情绪"增加。这是经济学家使用的术语,指不太愿意通过借款等方式承担风险。一种可能的解释是,很多年轻人目前获得贷款的难度有所增加,特别是那些背负着超高学生贷款的年轻人。而同时,年轻成年人的收入也有所下降,整体来看他们赚的钱不如年龄较大的人多。如今,在金融危机和经济衰退过后,他们可能会发现自己的偿债能力减弱了,而这反过来又会影响他们的贷款需求。



'Younger households were significantly dis-saving -- aggressively borrowing -- prior to the recession, but they are now saving at a healthy rate,' said Mark Zandi, economist at Moody's Analytics.


Moody's Analytics的经济学家赞迪(Mark Zandi)说,年轻家庭在经济衰退之前曾非常反对储蓄,他们会大量借钱,但如今他们的储蓄率处在一个健康的水平上。



'I think this clearly shows a significant increase in the risk aversion of younger households given the economic nightmare of the downturn and weak recovery,' he adds. 'It is unclear how long this heightened risk aversion will last, but I suspect the last few years will have an indelible impact on how younger households think about their finances.'


赞迪还说:我认为这明确显示,面对经济低迷和复苏乏力的噩梦,年轻家庭的避险情绪明显增加。他说:不清楚这种加剧的避险情绪会持续多长时间,但我怀疑过去几年对于年轻家庭的财务观会产生不可磨灭的影响。



Neil Shah