After reading this chapter, you will be able to:
阅读本章后，您将能够：
LO2-1 Understand how the political systems of countries differ.
LO2-1 了解各国的政治制度有何不同。
LO2-2 Understand how the economic systems of countries differ.
LO2-2 了解各国经济制度的不同之处。
LO2-3 Understand how the legal systems of countries differ.
LO2-3 了解各国法律制度的不同之处。
LO2-4 Explain the implications for management practice of national differences in political economy.
LO2-4 解释政治经济学中国家差异对管理实践的影响。

Brazil is the seventh-largest economy in the world with a gross domestic product of $\mathrm{\$}2.25$$\mathrm{\$}2.25$$2.25\$ 2.25 trillion. The country has a democratic government and an economy characterized by moderately free markets, although the country’s largest oil producer (Petrobras) and one of its top banks (Banco do Brazil) are both state owned. Many economists, however, have long felt that the country has never quite lived up to its considerable economic potential. A major reason for this has been an endemically high level of corruption that favors those with political connections, and discourages investment by more ethical businesses.
巴西是世界第七大经济体，国内生产总值达 $\mathrm{\$}2.25$$\mathrm{\$}2.25$$2.25\$ 2.25 万亿。该国拥有民主政府和以适度自由市场为特征的经济，尽管该国最大的石油生产商 （Petrobras） 和其顶级银行之一 （Banco do Brazil） 都是国有的。然而，许多经济学家长期以来一直认为，该国从未完全发挥其巨大的经济潜力。造成这种情况的一个主要原因是地方性的高度腐败，它有利于那些有政治关系的人，并阻碍了更道德的企业的投资。

Transparency International, a nongovernmental organization that evaluates countries based on perceptions of how corrupt they are, ranks Brazil 69 out of the 175 countries it looks at. The problems it identifies in Brazil include public officials who demand bribes in return for awarding government contracts, and “influence peddling,” where elected officials use their position in government to obtain favors or preferential treatment. Consistent with this, according to a study by the World Economic Forum, Brazil ranks 135th out of 144 countries in the proper use of public funds.
透明国际（Transparency International）是一个非政府组织，根据人们对各国腐败程度的看法来评估这些国家，在其关注的 175 个国家中，巴西排名第 69 位。报告指出，巴西存在的问题包括公职人员索要贿赂以换取授予政府合同，以及“以权谋私”，即民选官员利用他们在政府中的地位来获得好处或优惠待遇。与此一致，根据世界经济论坛的一项研究，巴西在正确使用公共资金方面在 135 个国家中排名第 144 位。

Over the last decade, several corruption scandals have come to light that serve to emphasize Brazil’s corruption problem. In 2005, a scandal known as the mensalao (the
在过去十年中，几起腐败丑闻被曝光，凸显了巴西的腐败问题。2005 年，一场被称为 mensalao 的丑闻（
monthly payoff scandal) broke. The scandal started when a midlevel postal official was caught on film pocketing a modest bribe in exchange for promises to favor certain businesses in landing government contracts. Further investigation uncovered a web of influence peddling in which fat monthly payments were given to lawmakers willing to back government initiatives in National Congress. After a lengthy investigation, in late 2012 some 25 politicians and business executives were found guilty of crimes that included bribery, money laundering, and corruption.
Monthly Payoff 丑闻）破产。丑闻始于一名中级邮政官员被拍到收受少量贿赂，以换取在获得政府合同时偏袒某些企业的承诺。进一步的调查发现了一个兜售影响力的网络，其中每月向愿意在国会支持政府倡议的立法者支付丰厚的款项。经过漫长的调查，2012 年底，大约 25 名政治家和企业高管被判犯有贿赂、洗钱和腐败等罪行。

The public uproar surrounding the mensalao scandal was just starting to die down when in March 2014 another corruption scandal captured the attention of Brazilians. This time it involved the state-owned oil company, Petrobras. Under a scheme that seems to have been operating since 1997, construction firms wanting to do business with Petrobras agreed to pay bribes to the company’s executives. Many of these executives were themselves political appointees. The executives would inflate the value of contracts they awarded, adding a 3 percent “fee,” which was effectively a kickback. The 3 percent fee was shared among Petrobras executives, construction industry executives, and politicians. The construction companies established shell companies to make payments and launder the money. According to prosecutors investigating the case,
2014 年 3 月，另一起腐败丑闻引起了巴西人的注意，围绕 mensalao 丑闻的公众喧嚣才刚刚开始平息。这一次涉及国有石油公司巴西国家石油公司（Petrobras）。根据一项似乎自 1997 年以来一直在运作的计划，希望与巴西国家石油公司做生意的建筑公司同意向该公司的高管行贿。这些高管中的许多人本身就是政治任命的。高管们会夸大他们授予的合同的价值，增加 3% 的“费用”，这实际上是回扣。3% 的费用由巴西石油公司高管、建筑行业高管和政界人士分享。建筑公司成立了空壳公司来付款和洗钱。据调查此案的检察官称，
the total value of bribes may have exceeded $\mathrm{\$}3.7$$\mathrm{\$}3.7$$3.7\$ 3.7 billion.
贿赂总额可能已超过 $\mathrm{\$}3.7$$\mathrm{\$}3.7$$3.7\$ 3.7 10 亿美元。
As of early 2015, 4 former Petrobras officials and at least 23 construction company executives have been charged with crimes that include corruption and money laundering. In addition, Brazil’s Supreme Court has given prosecutors the go-ahead to investigate 48 current or former members of Congress, including the former Brazilian president, Fernando Collor de Mello. The current Brazilian president, Dilma Rousseff, has also been tainted by the scandal. She was chair of Petrobras during the time this was occurring. She is also a member of the governing Workers’ Party, several members of which seem to have been among the major beneficiaries of the kickback scandal. Although there is no evidence that Rousseff knew of
截至 2015 年初，已有 4 名巴西国家石油公司前官员和至少 23 名建筑公司高管被指控犯有腐败和洗钱等罪行。此外，巴西最高法院已批准检察官调查 48 名现任或前任国会议员，包括巴西前总统费尔南多·科洛尔·德梅洛 （Fernando Collor de Mello）。现任巴西总统迪尔玛·罗塞夫 （Dilma Rousseff） 也受到丑闻的玷污。在发生这种情况期间，她是巴西国家石油公司的董事长。她还是执政的工人党（Workers' Party）的成员，该党的几名成员似乎是回扣丑闻的主要受益者之一。虽然没有证据表明罗塞夫知道
the bribes, or profited from them, her ability to govern effectively has been severely damaged by association. The scandal has so rocked Brazil that it has pushed the country close to a recession.
贿赂或从中获利，她的有效治理能力已经因关联而受到严重损害。这起丑闻震惊了巴西，以至于使该国接近衰退。

If there is a bright spot in all of this, it is that the scandals are coming to light. Backed by Supreme Court rulings and public outrage, corrupted politicians, government officials, and business executives are being prosecuted. In the past, that was far less likely to occur.
如果说这一切中有一个亮点，那就是丑闻正在曝光。在最高法院裁决和公众愤怒的支持下，腐败的政客、政府官员和企业高管正在被起诉。在过去，这种情况发生的可能性要小得多。

Sources: Will Conners and Luciana Magalhaes, “Brazil Cracks Open Vast Bribery Scandal,” The Wall Street Journal, April 7, 2015; Marc Margolis, “In Brazil’s Trial of the Century, Lula’s Reputation Is at Stake,” Newsweek, July 27, 2012; “The Blg Olly,” The Economist, January 3, 2015.
资料来源：Will Conners 和 Luciana Magalhaes，“巴西揭开了巨大的贿赂丑闻”，《华尔街日报》，2015 年 4 月 7 日;马克·马戈利斯，“在巴西的世纪审判中，卢拉的声誉岌岌可危”，《新闻周刊》，2012 年 7 月 27 日;“The Blg Olly”，《经济学人》，2015 年 1 月 3 日。

International business is much more complicated than domestic business because countries differ in many ways. Countries have different political, economic, and legal systems. They vary significantly in their level of economic development and future economic growth trajectory. Cultural practices can vary dramatically, as can the education and skill levels of the population. All these differences can and do have major implications for the practice of international business. They have a profound impact on the benefits, costs, and risks associated with doing business in different countries; the way in which operations in different countries should be managed; and the strategy international firms should pursue in different countries. The main function of this chapter and the next two is to develop an awareness of and appreciation for the significance of country differences in political systems, economic systems, legal systems, economic development, and societal culture. Another function of the three chapters is to describe how the political, economic, legal, and cultural systems of many of the world’s nation-states are evolving and to draw out the implications of these changes for the practice of international business.
国际业务比国内业务复杂得多，因为国家在许多方面都存在差异。各国的政治、经济和法律制度各不相同。它们的经济发展水平和未来的经济增长轨迹差异很大。文化习俗可能有很大差异，人们的教育和技能水平也是如此。所有这些差异都可能而且确实对国际商务的实践产生重大影响。它们对在不同国家开展业务的收益、成本和风险产生深远影响;应如何管理不同国家的运营;以及国际公司在不同国家应采取的战略。本章和接下来两章的主要功能是培养对国家在政治制度、经济制度、法律制度、经济发展和社会文化方面差异的重要性的认识和欣赏。这三章的另一个功能是描述世界上许多民族国家的政治、经济、法律和文化体系是如何演变的，并阐明这些变化对国际商务实践的影响。

This chapter focuses on how the political, economic, and legal systems of countries differ. Collectively, we refer to these systems as constituting the political economy of a country. We use the term political economy to stress that the political, economic, and legal systems of a country are interdependent; they interact with and influence each other, and in doing so, they affect the level of economic well-being. In Chapter 3, we build on the concepts discussed here to explore in detail how differences in political, economic, and legal systems influence the economic development of a nation-state and its likely future growth trajectory. In Chapter 4, we look at differences in societal culture and at how these differences influence the practice of international business. Moreover, as we will see in Chapter 4, societal culture has an influence on the political, economic, and legal systems in a nation, and thus its level of economic well-being. We also discuss how the converse may occurhow political, economic, and legal systems may also shape societal culture.
本章重点介绍各国的政治、经济和法律制度有何不同。总的来说，我们将这些制度称为构成一个国家的政治经济学。我们使用政治经济学一词来强调一个国家的政治、经济和法律制度是相互依存的;它们相互作用并相互影响，在此过程中，它们会影响经济福祉的水平。在第 3 章中，我们以此处讨论的概念为基础，详细探讨了政治、经济和法律制度的差异如何影响民族国家的经济发展及其可能的未来增长轨迹。在第 4 章中，我们研究了社会文化的差异以及这些差异如何影响国际商务实践。此外，正如我们将在第 4 章中看到的那样，社会文化对一个国家的政治、经济和法律制度有影响，从而影响其经济福祉水平。我们还讨论了相反的情况如何发生政治、经济和法律制度如何塑造社会文化。

The opening case illustrates some of the issues discussed in this chapter. Between 1964 and 1985 Brazil was ruled by a military dictatorship. The dictatorship was brought down by poor economic management which led to rampant inflation. Since then, Brazil has become a democratic state with moderately free markets. Under democratic and market reforms, Brazil’s economy has grown more rapidly, but many feel that the country is still held back by a legal system that favors the wealthy, and endemic corruption that reaches up to the highest levels of government and business. On the other hand, stronger
开篇案例说明了本章讨论的一些问题。1964 年至 1985 年间，巴西由军事独裁统治。独裁政权是由于经济管理不善导致通货膨胀猖獗而推翻的。从那时起，巴西就变成了一个拥有适度自由市场的民主国家。在民主和市场改革下，巴西的经济增长得更快，但许多人认为，该国仍然受到偏袒富人的法律制度以及一直延伸到政府和企业最高层的地方性腐败的阻碍。另一方面，更强
legal sanctions, and greater legal activism, seem to be bringing corruption to light. Corrupt politicians, government employees, and business executives are being prosecuted, which raises the possibility that the rule of law will become more firmly established going forward. If this does happen, a strong legal system, together with continued economic and political reforms, could finally unleash Brazil’s considerable economic potential.
法律制裁和更大的法律行动主义似乎正在使腐败暴露出来。腐败的政客、政府雇员和企业高管正在被起诉，这增加了法治在未来变得更加牢固的可能性。如果这种情况真的发生，强大的法律体系，加上持续的经济和政治改革，最终可以释放巴西的巨大经济潜力。

The political system of a country shapes its economic and legal systems. ${}^1$${}^1$^(1){ }^{1} As such, we need to understand the nature of different political systems before discussing economic and legal systems. By political system, we mean the system of government in a nation. Political systems can be assessed according to two dimensions. The first is the degree to which they emphasize collectivism as opposed to individualism. The second is the degree to which they are democratic or totalitarian. These dimensions are interrelated; systems that emphasize collectivism tend to lean toward totalitarianism, whereas those that place a high value on individualism tend to be democratic. However, a large gray area exists in the middle. It is possible to have democratic societies that emphasize a mix of collectivism and individualism. Similarly, it is possible to have totalitarian societies that are not collectivist.
一个国家的政治制度塑造了其经济和法律制度。 ${}^1$${}^1$^(1){ }^{1} 因此，在讨论经济和法律制度之前，我们需要了解不同政治制度的性质。我们所说的政治制度，是指一个国家的政府制度。政治制度可以根据两个维度进行评估。首先是他们强调集体主义而不是个人主义的程度。第二个是他们民主或极权主义的程度。这些维度是相互关联的;强调集体主义的制度往往倾向于极权主义，而那些高度重视个人主义的制度往往是民主的。但是，中间存在较大的灰色区域。强调集体主义和个人主义混合的民主社会是可能的。同样，也有可能出现非集体主义的极权主义社会。

Collectivism refers to a political system that stresses the primacy of collective goals over individual goals. ${}^2$${}^2$^(2){ }^{2} When collectivism is emphasized, the needs of society as a whole are generally viewed as being more important than individual freedoms. In such circumstances, an individual’s right to do something may be restricted on the grounds that it runs counter to “the good of society” or to “the common good.” Advocacy of collectivism can be traced to the ancient Greek philosopher Plato ( $427-347$$427-347$427-347427-347 b.c.), who, in The Republic, argued that individual rights should be sacrificed for the good of the majority and that property should be owned in common. Plato did not equate collectivism with equality; he believed that society should be stratified into classes, with those best suited to rule (which for Plato, naturally, were philosophers and soldiers) administering society for the benefit of all. In modern times, the collectivist mantle has been picked up by socialists.
集体主义是指强调集体目标高于个人目标的政治制度。 ${}^2$${}^2$^(2){ }^{2} 当强调集体主义时，整个社会的需求通常被认为比个人自由更重要。在这种情况下，个人做某事的权利可能会受到限制，因为它违背了“社会利益”或“公共利益”。集体主义的倡导可以追溯到古希腊哲学家柏拉图（ $427-347$$427-347$427-347427-347 公元前），他在《共和国》中认为，为了大多数人的利益，应该牺牲个人权利，财产应该共同拥有。柏拉图并没有将集体主义等同于平等;他认为社会应该分为几个阶级，由最适合统治的人（对柏拉图来说，自然是哲学家和士兵）为所有人的利益管理社会。在现代，社会主义者已经接过了集体主义的衣钵。

Modern socialists trace their intellectual roots to Karl Marx (1818-1883), although socialist thought clearly predates Marx (elements of it can be traced to Plato). Marx argued that the few benefit at the expense of the many in a capitalist society where individual freedoms are not restricted. While successful capitalists accumulate considerable wealth, Marx postulated that the wages earned by the majority of workers in a capitalist society would be forced down to subsistence levels. He argued that capitalists expropriate for their own use the value created by workers, while paying workers only subsistence wages in return. According to Marx, the pay of workers does not reflect the full value of their labor. To correct this perceived wrong, Marx advocated state ownership of the basic means of production, distribution, and exchange (i.e., businesses). His logic was that if the state owned the means of production, the state could ensure that workers were fully compensated for their labor. Thus, the idea is to manage state-owned enterprise to benefit society as a whole, rather than individual capitalists. ${}^3$${}^3$^(3){ }^{3}
现代社会主义者的思想根源可以追溯到卡尔·马克思（Karl Marx，1818-1883），尽管社会主义思想显然早于马克思（其要素可以追溯到柏拉图）。马克思认为，在个人自由不受限制的资本主义社会中，少数人的利益是以牺牲多数人为代价的。虽然成功的资本家积累了大量财富，但马克思假设资本主义社会中大多数工人赚取的工资将被迫降低到生存水平。他认为，资本家没收了工人创造的价值供自己使用，而只向工人支付维持生计的工资作为回报。根据马克思的说法，工人的工资并不能反映他们劳动的全部价值。为了纠正这一认知错误，马克思主张基本生产、分配和交换资料（即企业）的国家所有制。他的逻辑是，如果国家拥有生产资料，国家就可以确保工人的劳动得到充分的补偿。因此，这个想法是管理国有企业以造福整个社会，而不是个人资本家。 ${}^3$${}^3$^(3){ }^{3}

In the early twentieth century, the socialist ideology split into two broad camps. The communists believed that socialism could be achieved only through violent revolution and totalitarian dictatorship, whereas the social democrats committed themselves to achieving socialism by democratic means, turning their backs on violent
在 20 世纪初，社会主义意识形态分裂为两大阵营。共产党人认为，只有通过暴力革命和极权独裁才能实现社会主义，而社会民主党人则致力于通过民主手段实现社会主义，反对暴力

Understand how the political systems of countries differ.
了解各国的政治制度有何不同。