Davis on US Regulation of Foreign Bribery

Kevin E. Davis (New York University (NYU) - School of Law) has posted Why Does the United States Regulate Foreign Bribery: Moralism, Self-Interest, or Altruism? (NYU Annual Survey of American Law, Vol. 67, No. 3, 2012) on SSRN. Here is the abstract:

This short essay traces the legislative history of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and its amendments to examine the influence of three distinct motivations: moralism, (economic) self-interest and altruism. The legislative history suggests that moralism and self-interest played the most significant roles in influencing the provisions of the original Act and its 1988 Amendments. Since then altruism has played a more prominent role in shaping the FCPA and other initiatives aimed at foreign bribery. The essay concludes by discussing the potential tension between self-interest and altruism and ways in which it might be resolved.