A Historic View of the US Business Ethical Laws and Implications for Developing Countries like China

In the nearly 150 years of the US history, following big historical events or business ethical dilemmas, the business ethical laws have evolved gradually, which can be divided into 11 stages in 4 levels. In each stage, the emphases or governance purposes of the business ethical laws differ greatly, but tend to bear the sign of the times. Through the systematic review and analysis, the paper concludes that in a specific era of the history, when facing a specific ethical dilemma, the government or regulatory authority will develop and perfect the related regulations or norms of business ethical behaviors in line with the feature of the period so as to effectively prevent or solve the ethical problems in the business environment. The practice of the US institutional construction may be of some enlightenment for developing countries like China.