Bribery
Bribery is the corrupt exchange of favors for official action.
Bribery is the corrupt solicitation, payment, or acceptance of a private favor in exchange for official action. Its purpose is to influence a person in an official duty to act contrary to honesty and integrity. Bribery is considered an illegal or unethical practice that can take many forms, including money, goods, privileges, or promises, and is addressed internationally as part of efforts to reduce corruption.
- definition
- Corrupt solicitation, payment, or acceptance of a private favor for official action
- common_forms
- Money, goods, rights, property, preferment, privilege, emolument, promise
- global_scope
- Worth around one trillion dollars worldwide as of 2007
- legal_distinction
- Active bribery (offering) and passive bribery (receiving) are often separate offences
- cultural_variation
- Called mordida in Spanish, baksheesh in Arabic, Schmiergeld in German
Lore & Background
Bribery involves the offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting of any undue advantage to influence a person in an official capacity. The bribe may be money, goods, a promise, or any item of value. It is distinct from legitimate gifts or rebates available to everyone on equivalent terms. For example, a utility regulator accepting a rebate available to all customers is not bribery, but a targeted discount to influence a decision is.
Reader's Guide
Bribery has significant negative effects on societal norms and trade. Research indicates that when bribery becomes part of social norms, no single approach works to tackle it across different countries; severe punishment effective in one nation may not work in another. Bribery plays a significant role in both public and private firms worldwide. International efforts, such as those under United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 16, aim to substantially reduce bribery. The OECD has recommended that member countries stop allowing tax deductibility of bribes to foreign officials, and many have revised tax policies accordingly. Bribery can also have political consequences, with citizens asked for bribes becoming less likely to identify with their country or region.
Did You Know?
- In some Spanish-speaking countries, bribes are referred to as mordida, meaning 'bite'.
- The United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 16 includes a target to substantially reduce bribery of all forms.
- Bribery may be divided into two classes: inducing a power holder to use it unjustly, or purchasing the suffrages of those who can impart power.
- In 2007, bribery was thought to be worth around one trillion dollars worldwide.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Bribery in Crime and Deviance?
Bribery is the corrupt exchange of a private favor—offered, given, or accepted—in return for an official to act against their duty of honesty and integrity. It is fundamentally a scheme to manipulate someone holding an official role into doing something they should not.
What forms can Bribery take?
Bribery is not limited to cash; it can involve goods, property, privileges, preferential treatment, or even promises of future benefits. The unifying thread is that the favor is intended to corrupt the official's judgment or actions.
What is the difference between active and passive bribery?
Active bribery covers the act of offering or giving the corrupt favor, while passive bribery covers soliciting or receiving it. Many legal systems treat these as distinct offenses rather than a single unified crime.
How large is the Bribery problem on a global scale?
As of 2007, bribery was estimated to be worth roughly one trillion dollars worldwide. It is addressed internationally as a key component of broader anti-corruption efforts.
What are Bribery's equivalents in other cultures and languages?
The concept goes by different names depending on the culture, such as mordida in Spanish, baksheesh in Arabic, and Schmiergeld in German. Despite the varied terminology, the core idea of trading favors for official action remains consistent across all of them.
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