Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t7czq Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-24T19:39:58.576Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Buy Bribes or Bye-Bye Bribes: The Future Status of Bribery in International Commerce

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 January 2015

Abstract:

Bribery in international business has become a priority concern among business, government, and community leaders. While discussions among philosophers often emphasize the ethical justification for banning bribery, policy-makers around the world are challenging it on the basis of its effects for economic development. In this paper we define bribery, trace recent efforts by the public, private, and civil society sectors to curb it, and attempt to answer the question: Will bribery become less common?

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Society for Business Ethics 2004

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Adams, P. 2002. “The Canadian Connection in Africa’s Scourge of Corruption.” Financial Post (July 11).Google Scholar
Andelman, D. 1998. “Bribery: The New Global Outlaw.” Management Review 87(4): 4951.Google Scholar
Andreski, S. 1968. The African Predicament: A Study in the Pathology Of Modernization (New York: Atherton).Google Scholar
BBC News. 2003. “Cheaper Bribes for Kenyans.” (January 24). www.transparency.org/cgi-bin/dcn-read.pl?citID=51457.Google Scholar
Business Day. 2003. “French President Slammed Over Kickbacks.” (January 22). www.bday.co.za/bday/content/direct/1,3523,1268047-6078-0,00.html.Google Scholar
Chazan, G. 1999. “Corruption Panel Formed in Russia; U.S. Help Sought.” Wall Street Journal (September 30): A21.Google Scholar
Deming, S. H. 2003. “Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.” Unpublished.Google Scholar
Dexter, L. A., and Braybrooke, D.. 1992. “Corruption,” in Encyclopedia of Ethics, ed. Becker, L. C. and Becker, C. B. (New York: Garland Publishing), 21820. Cited in Ryan, L. V.. 2000. “Combating Corruption: The 21st-Century Ethical Challenge.” Business Ethics Quarterly 10: 33138.Google Scholar
Donaldson, T. 1989. The Ethics of International Business (New York: Oxford University Press).Google Scholar
Eizenstat, S. E. 1998. “Promoting the Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption in a Globalized Economy.” Economic Perspectives 12: 47.Google Scholar
Ekpo, M., ed. 1979. Bureaucratic Corruption in Sub-Saharan Africa: Causes, Consequences, and Controls (Washington: University Press of America).Google Scholar
Ethics Officers Association. 1999. “Global Forum on Fighting Corruption.” EOA Making News (Summer/Fall): 3.Google Scholar
George, B. C., and Lacey, K. A.. 2000. “A Coalition of Industrialized Nations, Developing Nations, Multilateral Development Banks, and Non-Governmental Organizations: A Pivotal Complement to Current Anti-Corruption Initiatives.” Cornell International Law Journal 33: 54792.Google Scholar
Getz, K. A. 2004. “The Social Responsibilities of Business in Weakened Civil Societies.” In International Corporate Responsibility: Exploring the Issues, ed. Hooker, J. and Madsen, P. (Pittsburgh: Carnegie Bosch Institute), 1742.Google Scholar
Getz, K. A., and Volkema, R. J. 2001. “Culture, Perceived Corruption, and Economics: A Model of Predictors and Outcomes.” Business & Society 40: 730.Google Scholar
Gillespie, K. 1987. “Middle East Response to the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.” California Management Review 29(4): 930.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gimbel, F. 2003. “Corporate Transparency: Time to Publish and be Praised.” Financial Times. http://www.transparency.org/cgi-bin/dcn-read.pl?citID=65054 (accessed April 29, 2003).Google Scholar
Goudie, A. W., and Stasavage, D.. 1997. Corruption: The Issues (Paris: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development).Google Scholar
Hamra, W. 2000. “Bribery in International Business Transactions and the OECD Convention: Benefits and Limitations.” http://www.findarticles.com/cf_dls/m1094/4_35/67978515/print.jhtml (accessed July 8, 2003).Google Scholar
Hennop, J. 2002. “Canadian Firm Fined for Bribery in Lesotho.” business.iafrica.com/news.Google Scholar
Hershman, M. J. 1999. “OECD’s Convention on Bribery ‘Levels the Playing Field.’Ethikos 12(5): 13, 13.Google Scholar
Hobbs, J. I.Khan, M. Posner, and Roth, K.. 2003. Letter to Louise Frechette, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations. http://www.amnesty.org/pages/ec_briefings_global_7April03. (accessed June 25, 2003).Google Scholar
Husted, B. W. 1999. “Wealth, Culture and Corruption.” Journal of International Business Studies 20: 33960.Google Scholar
Johnson, James Turner. 2002. “Culture and International Anti-Corruption Agreements in Latin America.” Journal of Business Ethics 37: 41322.Google Scholar
James, H. S. Jr. 2002. “When is a Bribe a Bribe? Teaching a Workable Definition of Bribery.” Teaching Business Ethics 6: 199217.Google Scholar
Johnston, M. 1997. “The Vices—and Virtues—of Corruption.” Current History 96: 27073.Google Scholar
Kaikati, J. G., Sullivan, G. M.Virgo, J. M., Carr, T. R. and Virgo, K. S.. 2000. “The Price of International Business Morality: Twenty Years under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.” Journal of Business Ethics 26: 21322.Google Scholar
Klitgaard, R. 1996. “National and International Strategies for Reducing Corruption.” OECD Symposium on Corruption and Good Governance (Paris: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development), 3754.Google Scholar
Leff, N. 1979. “Economic Development through Bureaucratic Corruption.” in Bureaucratic Corruption in Sub-Saharan Africa, ed. Ekpo, M., 32554.Google Scholar
Lyne, J., and Bruns, A.. 2002. “Survey: Corporate Bribery Common in Emerging Market Nations.” www.conway.com/ssinsider/snapshot.Google Scholar
Mauro, P. 1995. “Corruption and Growth.” Quarterly Journal of Economics 109: 681712.Google Scholar
New York Times. 2003. “With Rise in Foreign Aid, Plans for a New Way to Give It.” (February 3). www.transparency.org/cgi-bin/dcn-read.pl?citID=51492.Google Scholar
Nesbit, J. 1998. “Transnational Bribery of Foreign Officials: A New Threat to the Future of Democracy.” Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law 31: 1273319.Google Scholar
Nichols, P. M. 1999. “Regulating Transnational Bribery in Times of Globalization and Fragmentation.” Yale Journal of International Law 24: 257304.Google Scholar
Noonan, J. T Jr. 1984. Bribes (New York: Macmillan).Google Scholar
Nye, J. S. 1979. “Corruption and Political Development: A Cost-Benefit Analysis,” in Bureaucratic Corruption in Sub-Saharan Africa, ed. Ekpo, M., 5779.Google Scholar
Pallister, D. 2004. “World Bank Corruption Inquiry May Blacklist Firm.” The Guardian (March 16).Google Scholar
Pope, H. 2000. “Corruption Stunts Growth in Ex-Soviet Sales.” Wall Street Journal (July 5): A17.Google Scholar
Publish What You Pay. 2003b. “G8 Must Follow Declaration on Oil, Gas, and Mining Transparency with Action.” www document] http://www.publishwhatyoupay.org/g8/reply.shtml (accessed June 4, 2003).Google Scholar
Reed, J., and Portanger, E.. 1999. “Bribery, Corruption are Rampant in Eastern Europe, Survey Finds.” Wall Street Journal (November 9): A21.Google Scholar
Rose-Ackerman, S. 1978. Corruption: A Study in Political Economy (New York: Academic Press).Google Scholar
Rose-Ackerman, S.. 1999. Corruption and Government: Causes, Consequences, and Reform (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press).Google Scholar
Ryan, L. V. 2000. “Combating Corruption: The 21st-Century Ethical Challenge.” Business Ethics Quarterly 10: 33138.Google Scholar
Salbu, S. R. 2000. “A Delicate Balance: Legislation, Institutional Change, and Transnational Bribery.” Cornell International Law Journal 33: 65888.Google Scholar
Salbu, S. R.. 2001. “Information Technology in the War against Bribery and Corruption: The Next Frontier of Institutional Reform.” Harvard Journal on Legislation 38: 67102.Google Scholar
Shaw, B. 2000. “The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and Progeny: Morally Unassailable.” Cornell International Law Journal 33: 689710.Google Scholar
Simpson, G. R. 1999. “Foreign Deals Rely on Bribes, U.S. Contends.” Wall Street Journal (February 23): A3, A13.Google Scholar
Slade, D. R. 1981. “Foreign Corrupt Payments: Enforcing a Multilateral Agreement.” Harvard International Law Journal 22: 11755.Google Scholar
Spinellis, D. 1996. “The Phenomenon of Corruption and the Challenge of Good Governance,” in OECD Symposium on Corruption and Good Governance (Paris: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development), 1934.Google Scholar
Theobald, R. 2002. “Should the Payment of Bribes Overseas be made Illegal?” Business Ethics: A European Review 11: 37584.Google Scholar
Transparency International. 1999. Bribe Payers Index. http://www.transparency.org/cpi/1999/bpi1999.en.html (accessed September 20, 2002).Google Scholar
Transparency International. 2002a. Annual Report (Berlin: Transparency International).Google Scholar
Transparency International. 2002b. Bribe Payers Index. http://www.transparency.org/cpi/2002/bpi2002.en.html (accessed September 20, 2002).Google Scholar
Transparency International. 2002c. “Corrupt Parliamentarians to Lose Legal Immunity.” Transparency International Quarterly Newsletter (December): 14.Google Scholar
Transparency International. 2002d. “Embarrassing Offspring.” Transparency International Quarterly Newsletter (December): 3.Google Scholar
Transparency International. 2003a. http://www.transparency.org (accessed February 28, 2003).Google Scholar
Transparency International. 2003b. Global Corruption Report. http://www.globalcorruptionreport.org/download.shtml (accessed July 9, 2003).Google Scholar
Wax, E. 2003. “‘New’ Kenya Isn’t Putting up with Old-Style Corruption.” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (February 9): A4.Google Scholar
Wei, S. 1997. “How Taxing is Corruption in International Investors?” National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper #6030. Cambridge, Mass.: National Bureau of Economic Research.Google Scholar
Williamson, H. 2003. “Call For Companies to Disclose Payments.” Financial Times. http://www.transparency.org/cgi-bin/dcn-read.pl?citID=60165 (accessed May 28, 2003).Google Scholar
Windsor, D., and Getz, K. A.. 1999. “Regional Market Integration and the Development of Global Norms for Enterprise Conduct: The Case of International Bribery.” Business & Society 38: 41549.Google Scholar
Windsor, D., and Getz, K. A.. 2000. “Multilateral Cooperation on Combat Corruption: Normative Regimes Despite Mixed Motives and Diverse Values.” Cornell International Law Journal 33: 73172.Google Scholar
Winston, M. 2003. Personal Communication. (June 25). (Winston has been an advisor or board member of Amnesty International for more than 20 years.)Google Scholar
World Bank. 2000. Anticorruption in Transition: A Contribution to the Policy Debate (Washington: World Bank).Google Scholar