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Bribery

(Redirected from Payola)

Bribery is the practice of offering a professional money or other favours in order to circumvent ethics in a variety of professions. It is a form of corruption and is generally illegal, or at least cause for penalties from professional organisations.

For example, a motorist may bribe a police officer not to issue a ticket for speeding, a citizen seeking paperwork or utility line connections may bribe a functionary for faster service, a construction company may bribe a civil servant to award a contract, or a narcotics smuggler may bribe a judge to lessen criminal penalties.

In some cases, the briber holds a powerful role and controls the transaction; in other cases, a bribe may be effectively extracted from the person paying it.

The level of non-monetary favours that constitute an incentive to unethical behaviour is variable and may constitute a matter of opinion in a given field.

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Smoothing bureaucracy

A grey area may exist when payments to smooth transactions are made. United States law is particularly strict in limiting the ability of businesses to pay for the awarding of contracts, but allows for facilitation payments . In some countries, this practice is the norm — often resulting from a developing nation not having the tax structure to pay civil servants an adequate salary. Nevertheless, most economists regard bribery as a bad thing because it encourages rent seeking behaviour. A state where bribery has become a way of life is a kleptocracy.

Payola

In the music industry, the practice of record companies paying money for the broadcast of records on music radio is called payola. A number of parties, including the RIAA have made a joint statement regarding current industry practices that have raised concerns about payola. The name of the company Clear Channel Communications has appeared in a number of reports citing concerns about industry practices.

Medicine

Pharmaceutical corporation s may seek to reward doctors for heavy prescription of their drugs through gifts. The American Medical Association has published ethical guidelines for gifts from industry which include the tenet that physicians should not accept gifts if they are given in relation to the physician’s prescribing practices. [1]

Law

In legal situations, lawyers, judges, and others with power may be subject to bribery or payoff for making a decision that benefits someone willing to pay for favours.

Politics

Politicians receive campaign contributions and other payoff from powerful corporations when making choices in the interests of those corporations, or in anticipation of favorable policy. See also influence peddling.

See also

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Last updated: 11-10-2004 19:39:54