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Who bribes in public contracting and why: worldwide evidence from firms

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  • Anna D’Souza
  • Daniel Kaufmann

Abstract

We study procurement bribery utilizing survey data from 11,000 enterprises in 125 countries. About one-third of managers report that firms like theirs bribe to secure a public contract, paying about 8 % of the contract value. Econometric estimations suggest that national governance factors, such as democratic accountability, press freedom, and rule of law, are associated with lower bribery. Larger and foreign-owned firms are less likely to bribe than smaller domestic ones. But among bribers, foreign and domestic firms pay similar amounts. Multinational firms appear sensitive to reputational risks in their home countries, but partially adapt to their host country environments. Copyright Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg (outside the USA) 2013

Suggested Citation

  • Anna D’Souza & Daniel Kaufmann, 2013. "Who bribes in public contracting and why: worldwide evidence from firms," Economics of Governance, Springer, vol. 14(4), pages 333-367, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:ecogov:v:14:y:2013:i:4:p:333-367
    DOI: 10.1007/s10101-013-0130-5
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    Cited by:

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    2. Kyunga Na & Young-Hee Kang & Yang Sok Kim, 2018. "The Effect of Corporate Governance on the Corruption of Firms in BRICs (Brazil, Russia, India & China)," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 7(6), pages 1-16, May.
    3. Gauthier, Bernard & Goyette, Jonathan & Kouamé, Wilfried A.K., 2021. "Why do firms pay bribes? Evidence on the demand and supply sides of corruption in developing countries," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 190(C), pages 463-479.
    4. Cai, Weixing & Hu, Feng & Xu, Fangming & Zheng, Liyi, 2022. "Anti-corruption campaign and corporate cash holdings: Evidence from China," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 51(PA).
    5. Du, Qingjie & Heo, Yuna, 2022. "Political corruption, Dodd–Frank whistleblowing, and corporate investment," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    6. Lee, Chien-Chiang & Wang, Chih-Wei & Ho, Shan-Ju, 2020. "Country governance, corruption, and the likelihood of firms’ innovation," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 326-338.
    7. Banerjee, Rajabrata & Gupta, Kartick & Krishnamurti, Chandrasekhar, 2022. "Does corrupt practice increase the implied cost of equity?," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    8. Hanousek, Jan & Shamshur, Anastasiya & Tresl, Jiri, 2019. "Firm efficiency, foreign ownership and CEO gender in corrupt environments," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 344-360.
    9. Suhee Kim & William Rees & Vathunyoo Sila, 2020. "Do anti‐bribery laws reduce the cost of equity? Evidence from the UK Bribery Act 2010," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 47(3-4), pages 438-455, March.
    10. Jacqueline C. Wisler, 2018. "U.S. CEOs of SBUs in Luxury Goods Organizations: A Mixed Methods Comparison of Ethical Decision-Making Profiles," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 149(2), pages 443-518, May.
    11. Kang, Sungwon & Kim, Daehwan & Kim, Geonhyeong, 2023. "Corporate entertainment expenses and corruption in public procurement," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    12. Yan-Leung Cheung & P. Raghavendra Rau & Aris Stouraitis, 2021. "What Determines the Return to Bribery? Evidence from Corruption Cases Worldwide," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 67(10), pages 6235-6265, October.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Governance; Corruption; Bribery; Public contracting; Public procurement; K42; L1; H11; P48;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • K42 - Law and Economics - - Legal Procedure, the Legal System, and Illegal Behavior - - - Illegal Behavior and the Enforcement of Law
    • L1 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance
    • H11 - Public Economics - - Structure and Scope of Government - - - Structure and Scope of Government
    • P48 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Other Economic Systems - - - Legal Institutions; Property Rights; Natural Resources; Energy; Environment; Regional Studies

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