The benefits of sharing

　　共享经济的好处

　　导读：像Airbnb以及Uber这样的共享型经济品牌越来越受到人们的欢迎。但是，大家都有这样的疑惑：这是一种什么样的经济模式呢?又会给人们带来什么好处?

　　In some countries, Millennials almost take the “sharing economy” for granted.

　　在一些国家中，“千禧一代”几乎认为“共享经济”是一种理所当然的存在。

　　It’s easy to pull up an app, push a few buttons, and have a taxi at your doorstep within minutes, or press a few laptop keys and find the best couch to crash on for a few days. It’s easy on the wallet and takes little time.

　　打开一个应用，点击几下按钮，几分钟后就会有一辆出租车停在家门口，一切就是这么简单。再或者，敲几下键盘，就可以找到一个最棒的沙发，舒舒服服地躺上几天。而且，付款简单，超级省时。

　　However, this new economic model could serve to benefit more than the average smartphone-wielding consumer. A paper released earlier this year by New York University found that those with the most to gain are the low-income participants in this new economy.

　　除了普通的智能手机消费者，这种新兴经济模式同样可以给其他人群带来好处。纽约大学在今年早些时候发布了一篇论文，该论文通过研究发现，在这种新兴经济模式下，受益最大的是低收入群体。

　　“We highlight this finding because it speaks to what may eventually be the true promise of the sharing economy as a force that democratizes access to a higher standard of living,” the researchers wrote in the paper, which analyzed data from a car rental app.

　　“我们强调这一研究结果，是因为它能证实分享经济最终能给我们的生活带来什么好处，这种经济模式作为一种手段，使普通大众也可以享受到较高的生活水平。”研究者通过分析一个汽车租赁软件的数据，在论文中写道。

　　Two big names come to mind when thinking of the sharing economy: ridesharing company Uber andlodging rental company Airbnb. The latter allows people to rent out their homes as an alternative to hotels and motels. Renting out items is a way in which those with lower income can benefit from the sharing economy.

　　一提起分享经济，两大品牌的名字便会在人们脑海中浮现：拼车公司Uber以及租房公司Airbnb。后者让人们把自己家里的房间出租出去，作为替代酒店和汽车旅馆的一种选择。那些低收入者能够从分享经济中获利的方式就是出租物品。

　　“Lower-income consumers also stand to gain the most from renting out their goods on these platforms,” Emily Badger wrote in The Washington Post. “The ability to make extra income off expensive items makes those items less expensive.”

　　“低收入者也是通过在这些平台上出租物品而获利最多的人，”，艾米丽?拜哲在《华盛顿邮报》上写道。“在共享经济的平台上，能够利用贵重的物品赚取额外收入，而这一过程正好又降低了这些物品的价格。”

　　For example, Badger notes, an extra $20 (about 124 yuan) here or there for a waitress renting out her car could serve to really boost a waitress’ income more than a lawyer’s.

　　拜哲指出，比如，与律师相比，一位服务员通过出租车辆赚取的20美元(约合124元人民币)，可以大大提升她的收入。

　　That said, in the real world, there’s yet to be strong evidence that large numbers of lower-income consumers are actually taking advantage of such services.

　　话虽如此，在现实生活中，还没有有力的证据能够证明，大量的低收入者确实可以利用这些服务获利。

　　“Part of the barrier is logistical; you have to have a credit card and a smartphone to access many of these platforms today,” Badger writes. “But another piece may be cultural.”

　　“部分障碍源于基本的服务保障;你必须有张信用卡和一个可以登录现今这些共享经济平台的智能手机，”拜哲写道。“但是，还有一部分原因可能是文化的障碍。”

　　For individuals, the sharing economy is helping to save – or even create – money and time for consumers, and may even help those with less money the most. However, the new model is so new that it, along with the research and data to go with it, hasn’t fully caught on.

　　对于个人来说，共享经济正在帮助消费者节省——甚至创造——金钱和时间，对于那些低收入者也许帮助最大。然而，根据相关研究和数据发现，这种新模式才刚开始出现，还没有完全流行起来。

编辑：张雨

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