[2008.08.09] MBA和经济：风暴中的港湾

MBAs and the economy
MBA和经济状况

Ports in a storm
风暴中的港湾

Aug 7th 2008 | SAN FRANCISCO
From The Economist print edition

Business-school applications pick up as the economy slows
商学院的申请数随着经济的减速而重新上升

ANYONE wanting further proof that the world economy is in trouble need look no further than the nearest business school. Many schools are hailing a bumper year for their full-time Master of Business Administration (MBA) programmes, which are popular with executives looking to hone their moneymaking skills while sitting out a downturn. Worryingly for those betting on a swift economic recovery, business schools reckon that next year could yield an even bigger crop of applicants.

想要更多世界经济处于困境证据的人，别的不必多看，看距其最近的商学院就够了。许多商学院的全日制工商管理硕士（MBA）项目正在收获一个大的丰收年，因为那是管理人员争相前去的地方–在那里既可以提高自己赚钱的技巧又能远离经济下挫的低靡时期。现在对于那些打赌明年经济会好转的人比较担心，因为商学院预计下一年会有更多的申请者。

During the previous downswing the percentage of full-time MBA programmes reporting higher applications soared as tech stars switched to textbooks (see chart). The pace slowed as the economy improved, but then picked up again. Preliminary figures from the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC), an international organisation of business schools, show that 77% of full-time programmes have reported higher demand for places this year.

上次全日制MBA增长率下降形势转向迅猛上升正是那些技术明星（译者注：指互联网高科技公司的创业者）去读教科书的时候（如图所示）。MBA申请的增长率随着经济的改善而下降，但又再次开始上升。一家商学院的国际组织–管理学研究生入学委员会（GMAC）的初步数据显示，77％的全日制MBA项目今年报告需要更多的学习名额。

Admittedly, the state of the economy is not the only factor driving demand for MBAs. Students from India, China and eastern Europe have swelled the ranks of applicants. But the business cycle still has an important influence. The biggest cost of undertaking an MBA is often the earnings forgone while studying. In difficult times those earnings may fall or even disappear, reducing the opportunity cost of taking a year out.

诚然，经济状况不是驱使MBA需求上涨的唯一原因。来自印度、中国和东欧国家的学生扩大了申请者的规模。但是经济周期确实是个重要的影响。读MBA的最大成本是读书时候原有薪水工资的损失。在困难时期这些薪水工资可能会减少或者消逝，减少了这一年离开的机会成本。

This helps to explain why demand for places is up this year, even as falling house prices make people feel poorer and the credit crunch makes student loans pricier. “Several months ago we were nervous about the impact of the financial crisis, but it does not seem to have been a major impediment,” says Mark Mallinger, associate dean of full-time programmes at Graziadio School of Business at Pepperdine University in California, which has seen a 30% rise in applications. Others reporting double-digit increases include the London Business School and the Stern School of Business at New York University.

这有助于解释了为何今年申请上升的原因，尽管下降的房价使人们感觉更穷了而且信贷紧缩使得学生贷款更加昂贵。位于加利福尼亚的Pepperdine大学 Graziadio学院负责全日制MBA项目的副院长Mark Mallinger说：”几个月前我们很担心金融危机的影响，但现在看起来这不会成为一个主要的障碍，”这个学院的MBA申请者有30％的上升。其它还有两位数增长的商学院包括伦敦商学院和纽约大学斯特恩商学院。

“We’re predicting a very strong applications market through 2010,” says David Wilson, the chief executive of GMAC. Registrations for its Graduate Management Admission Test are forecast to exceed 249,000 this year, an all-time high. Scores on the test, which 1,800 business schools require, are valid for five years. Of course, there is no guarantee that students who embark on MBAs now will be able to walk into their ideal jobs when they emerge clutching their new degrees. But they may stand a better chance of doing so than this year’s graduates, who must grapple at first hand with the practical implications of the macroeconomic theory they learnt in class.

管理学研究生入学委员会（GMAC）的首席执行官David Wilson说：”我们预计从现在到2010年的申请数还会很强。登记参加管理学研究生入学委员会（GMAC）的管理学研究生入学考试（GMAT）的人数预计今年将超过249，000人，达到历史最高数。考试分数的有效期为5年，商学院的要求是1800分。当然，没有人能保证现在开始读MBA的学生当他们拿到学位的时候肯定能够找到理想工作。但是他们肯定比今年的毕业生有更好的机会，这些毕业生首先必须与他们课堂上所学的宏观经济理论的现实意义作斗争。

译者：rushor     http://www.ecocn.org/forum/viewthread.php?tid=13197&extra=page%3D1