NEW YORK – The purpose of the global financial system is to allocate the world’s savings to their most productive uses. When the system works properly, these savings are channeled into investments that raise living standards; when it malfunctions, as in recent years, savings are channeled into real-estate bubbles and environmentally harmful projects, including those that exacerbate human-induced climate change.
纽约—全球金融体系的目标是将全世界的储蓄配置给生产率最高的用途。当金融体系运转良好时，这些储蓄被引导进入提高生活水平的投资；当金融体系功能失调时（比如近几年的情况），储蓄就流入房地产泡沫和引起环境破坏的项目，包括那些加剧人为气候变化的行为。