Foreign Corrupt Bribery Act: Long-term Benefits Should Outweigh Short-term Burdens

The purpose of this thesis is to examine the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Specifically, do long-term benefits from the FCPA outweigh short-term burdens? The paper begins with a short Introduction that provides a roadmap for the overall thesis. Chapter I discusses the business and economic environment of America during the 1970s. Specifically, the focus is on the Watergate scandal and how it played a crucial role in the enactment of the FCPA. Chapter II explains and analyzes specific provisions of the FCPA. It also demonstrates the FCPA‟s relationship to the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. Chapter III provides a cost/benefit analysis of the FCPA, particularly by looking at the short-term burdens and the long-term benefits of the act. Chapter IV provides two case studies. My conclusion is that with proper adjustments, long-term benefits from the FCPA can outweigh short-term burdens