The Supply Side of Global Bribery

ruption, the news media and most international institutions (whether official or nongovernmental) focus on the demand side of the equation: on public officials who abuse their office for private gain. Frequently, the supply side is given less attention. Those who pay bribes are sometimes depicted as innocent parties, forced by ruthless officials to provide kickbacks and do special favors in return for business. The reality is that both parties to corrupt practices conspire to defraud the public, to undermine fair trade, to waste resources, to frustrate development, and often to increase human suffering. For example, suppose a European supplier of pharmaceuticals does a deal with a minister of health from a developing country that has received emergency funds from an aid agency to purchase urgently required medicines. Instead of agreeing on a purchase of new drugs, the minister and the supplier conspire to use the aid funds to purchase out-of-date drugs, which are far cheaper. The supplier consequently makes a handsome profit and places a portion of it in an offshore bank account set up by the minister. Many of those in the minister’s country who are sick receive the old, less effective drugs and die.