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為什麽挪威人是百萬富翁，而美國人卻是窮人
挪威主權基金超越 80 年代樂隊 A-ha，是挪威最好的資產嗎？
ABC 新聞 2014 年 1 月 11 日
https://abcnews.go.com/Business/norwegians-millionaires-norways-sovereign-wealth-fund/story?id=21488085
挪威人慶祝挪威的原因包括 80 年代樂隊 A-ha、狹窄的地質構造（稱為峽灣）、石油儲量和世界上最大的主權財富基金。
根據本周發布的一份報告，主權基金（該國用於投資有利於其經濟和人民）達到 5.1 萬億克朗，約合 8180 億美元，這在很大程度上是由於油價上漲。該基金名為全球政府養老金基金，其資金激增理論上使挪威 5,096,300 人中的每一個人都成為百萬克朗富翁。
主權財富基金研究所所長 Michael Maduell 表示，按美元計算，該基金的人均克朗（挪威語拚寫為“krone”）約為 161,660 美元。
盡管財富基金中有這麽多錢，挪威的國家債務仍然高達 7,590 億克朗，約占國內生產總值的 25%。相比之下，美國 17.3 萬億美元的債務占 GDP 的 102%。如果你想知道，每個美國人欠 54,733 美元。但如果你加上政府所有未付債務，情況會變得更糟：根據 USDebtclock.org 的數據，每個美國人欠 110 萬美元。
但挪威人不會靠這筆主權基金的錢來養老，原因有幾個。
挪威政府全球養老金基金的成立是為了成為一種代際儲蓄工具，以確保從化石燃料資源中獲得收入，並防止“荷蘭病”，即自然資源增加導致製造業或農業等其他行業衰退的經濟現象，馬杜爾解釋道。
主權財富基金被納入挪威的財政預算：政府每年可以支出該基金資產的 4%。與阿拉斯加永久基金不同，該基金每年不向公民支付股息。
“其餘資金都積累在主權財富基金中，這就是它如今如此龐大的原因，”馬杜爾說。
石油和天然氣是世界上許多主權基金的金融驅動力。挪威恰好是第七大石油出口國。
根據主權財富基金研究所的數據，繼挪威之後，擁有主權財富基金規模第二大的國家是沙特阿拉伯，其擁有的資金超過 6750 億美元，其次是阿拉伯聯合酋長國阿布紮比，其擁有的資金為 6270 億美元。阿拉斯加是美國擁有主權財富基金規模最大的州之一，約為 470 億美元。
布魯金斯學會經濟學家巴裏·博斯沃思表示，挪威基金通常被全世界視為如何管理主權基金的典範。
“挪威在為子孫後代儲蓄和投資部分石油收入方麵做得非常出色，”吉米·卡特的前經濟顧問博斯沃思說。
他說，該國麵臨著選民的壓力，要求其支付更大比例的資產，博斯沃思表示，鑒於該基金的成功增長，這是“可以理解的”。
與一些人的看法相反，博斯沃思表示，他認為國家財富的存在並沒有壓低公民的工作意願，他指出，挪威的勞動力參與率——即正在工作或積極尋找工作的人口百分比——與美國大多數年齡段的勞動力參與率相同或更高。今天早些時候，美國勞工部報告稱，12 月份勞動力參與率下降了 0.2 個百分點，至 62.8%，創下 35 年來的最低水平。
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此外，博斯沃思表示，與歐洲大部分地區不同，沒有證據表明挪威的公共或私人債務水平過高。他解釋說，主權基金被記錄為挪威政府的資產，現在相當於其收入的兩倍左右。
然而，石油出口提高了匯率，導致製造業崗位流失，博斯沃思說。
除了峽灣和其他商品外，挪威還因另一種出口產品而聞名。
“最後，我注意到挪威有出色的懸疑小說作家，盡管我沒有證據證明這可以追溯到主權基金，”他指出。
圖片：GDP低於穀歌市值的國家
Why Norwegians Are Millionaires and Americans Are Paupers
Topping '80s band A-ha, is the Norwegian sovereign fund Norway's best asset?
The sovereign fund, which the country uses for investments that benefit their economy and people, reached 5.1 trillion crowns, or about $818 billion, due in large part to the rising price of oil, according to a report out this week. That surge in the fund, called the Government Pension Fund Global, theoretically makes each of Norway's 5,096,300 people a millionaire in crowns.
Translated into dollars the fund's crowns (spelled "krone" in Norway) per capita is about $161,660, said Michael Maduell, president of the Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute.
And, despite all that money in the wealth fund, Norway still has a national debt of 759 billion crowns or about 25 percent of gross domestic product. By comparison, the US debt of $17.3 trillion is 102 percent of GDP. In case you're wondering, that's $54,733 owed by each American. But it gets far worse if you add in all the unfunded liabilities of the government: Then it's $1.1 million owed per American, according to USDebtclock.org.
But Norwegians aren't going to retire on that sovereign fund's money for several reasons.
Norway's Government Pension Fund Global was created to be an intergenerational savings vehicle to secure income from a fossil fuel resource and to prevent "Dutch Disease," or the economic phenomenon when an increase in natural resources leads to a decline in other sectors like manufacturing or agriculture, explains Maduell.
The sovereign wealth fund is integrated into Norway's fiscal budget: 4 percent of the fund's assets can be spent each year by the government. Unlike the Alaska Permanent Fund, no dividends are paid out each year to its citizens.
"The rest of the money accumulates in the sovereign wealth fund, which is why it is so large today," Maduell said.
Oil and gas are financial drivers for many of the sovereign funds in the world. Norway happens to be the seventh largest oil exporter.
After Norway, the country with the second-largest sovereign wealth fund is Saudi Arabia with over $675 billion, followed by the Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates with $627 billion, according to the Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute. Alaska has one of the highest sovereign wealth funds of the U.S. states with about $47 billion.
Barry Bosworth, economist at the Brookings Institution, said the Norwegian fund is usually held up around the world as a model of how to run a sovereign fund.
"Norway has done an excellent job of saving and investing a portion of its oil revenues for future generations," says Bosworth, a former economic advisor to Jimmy Carter.
He said the country has come under pressure from voters to pay out a larger portion of the assets, which Bosworth said is "understandable," given the successful growth of the fund.
Contrary to the belief of some, Bosworth said he believes the existence of the country's wealth has not depressed citizens' willingness to work, pointing to the Norwegian labor force participation rate -- that is, the percentage of people who are working or actively looking for work, which is equal or above to that of most age groups in the U.S. Earlier today, the U.S. Labor Department reported that the labor force participation rate declined by 0.2 percentage point to 62.8 percent in December, a 35-year low.
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In addition, Bosworth said there isn't evidence of imprudent levels of public of private debt in Norway, unlike much of Europe. The sovereign fund is recorded as an asset of the Norwegian government and now equals about two times their income, he explains.
However, oil exports have raised the exchange rate and led to a loss of manufacturing jobs, Bosworth said.
Besides fjords and other commodities, Norway is also known for another export.
"Finally, I note that Norway has excellent mystery writers, although I have no proof that it can be traced to the sovereign fund," he points out.
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