2020年经济学人 行贿的代价(1)

Business

商业版块

Bribery²

贿赂

A closer look at greasy³ palms

审视行贿

Bribery pays—if you don’t get caught

贿赂的代价——如果没被抓住

Many big companies may be struggling with depressed⁴ sales, but these are busy times for bribery-busters. Mexico is abuzz over allegations by an ex-boss of Pemex, the state oil giant, that several senior politicians received bungs from companies including Odebrecht, a Brazilian construction firm. The scandal is the latest in a string of graft⁵ cases to make headlines this year, starting with Airbus’s record $4bn settlement in January over accusations⁶ of corruption⁷ for making illegal payments in various countries.

许多大型公司可能都在与低迷的销售额艰难斗争，但现在正是行贿者忙碌的时间段。墨西哥时下流言四起，因为国有石油巨头墨西哥石油公司的前任老板提出的指控，他指控墨西哥的几位高级政要向几家公司收受贿赂，其中包括巴西建筑公司奥德布雷希特。在今年头条新闻报道的一系列腐败案件中，这则丑闻是最新的一起，今年最早的一例腐败案件报道是在1月份，空中客车公司被控在多个国家进行非法支付的腐败行为，被处以40亿美元罚款，罚款数额创下了纪录。

Corporate⁸ bribery is hardly new. In surveys, between a third and a half of companies typically claim to have lost business to rivals who won contracts by paying kickbacks⁹. But such perceptions-based research has obvious limitations. A new study takes a more rigorous approach, and draws some striking conclusions.

单位行贿并非新鲜事。据调查，有三分之一到一半的公司通常会声称，竞争对手靠支付回扣赢得合同而抢走了生意。但这种基于感知的研究有明显的局限性。因此人们采取更加严格的方法开展了一项新的研究，而且结论惊人。

Raghavendra Rau of Judge Business School at the University of Cambridge, Yan- Leung Cheung of the Education University of Hong Kong and Aris Stouraitis of Hong Kong Baptist University examined nearly 200 prominent bribery cases in 60 countries between 1975 and 2015. For the firms doing the bribing¹⁰, they found, the shortterm gains were juicy: every dollar of bribe¹ translated into a $6-9 increase in excess returns, relative to the overall stockmarket.

剑桥大学法官商学院的拉哈文德拉·拉乌、教育香港大学的闫荣翔和香港浸会大学的阿里斯·斯图亚蒂斯对1975年至2015年间60个国家的近200起重大贿赂案件进行了考察。他们发现，行贿的公司在短期内可获得丰厚的受益：相对于整个股市，每一美元的贿赂都会带来6-9美元的超额回报。

1 bribe   

n.贿赂；v.向…行贿，买通

参考例句：

• He tried to bribe the policeman not to arrest him.他企图贿赂警察不逮捕他。
• He resolutely refused their bribe.他坚决不接受他们的贿赂。

2 bribery   

n.贿络行为，行贿，受贿

参考例句：

• FBI found out that the senator committed bribery.美国联邦调查局查明这个参议员有受贿行为。
• He was charged with bribery.他被指控受贿。

3 greasy   

adj. 多脂的，油脂的

参考例句：

• He bought a heavy-duty cleanser to clean his greasy oven.昨天他买了强力清洁剂来清洗油污的炉子。
• You loathe the smell of greasy food when you are seasick.当你晕船时，你会厌恶油腻的气味。

4 depressed   

adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的

参考例句：

• When he was depressed,he felt utterly divorced from reality.他心情沮丧时就感到完全脱离了现实。
• His mother was depressed by the sad news.这个坏消息使他的母亲意志消沉。

5 graft   

n.移植，嫁接，艰苦工作，贪污；v.移植，嫁接

参考例句：

• I am having a skin graft on my arm soon.我马上就要接受手臂的皮肤移植手术。
• The minister became rich through graft.这位部长透过贪污受贿致富。

6 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

7 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

8 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

9 kickbacks   

n.激烈反应( kickback的名词复数 )；佣金，回扣

参考例句：

• Everyone at City Hall is receiving kickbacks. It's the only way to get anything done there. 市政府里的每个人都收回扣，在那里只有送红包，事情才办得成。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• G raft or kickbacks paid to officials or law enforcem ent authorities. 暗中付给官员或执法人员的回扣。 来自互联网

10 bribing   

贿赂

参考例句：

• He tried to escape by bribing the guard. 他企图贿赂警卫而逃走。
• Always a new way of bribing unknown and maybe nonexistent forces. 总是用诸如此类的新方法来讨好那不知名的、甚或根本不存在的魔力。 来自英汉非文学 - 科幻