Plain brown envelopes

New research by Professor Raghavendra Rau, Sir Evelyn de Rothschild Professor of Finance, places fresh light onto bribery and flies in the face of previous survey-based studies. Focusing on the initial date of award of the contract for which the bribe was paid rather than the date on which the bribery was revealed, and calculating the impact on the company of getting the contract at that time, the research shows finds that firms bribing their way to contracts under-perform for up to three years before and after securing the work for which the bribe was paid.