scholarly journals The Ways of Corruption in Infrastructure: Lessons from the Odebrecht Case

2021 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 171-190
Author(s):  
Nicolás Campos ◽  
Eduardo Engel ◽  
Ronald D. Fischer ◽  
Alexander Galetovic
Keyword(s):  
Department Of Justice ◽  
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act ◽  
Corruption Case ◽  
The Us ◽  
Construction Firm ◽  
Media Reports ◽  
The Cost

In 2016, the Brazilian construction firm Odebrecht was fined $2.6 billion by the US Department of Justice. It was the largest corruption case ever prosecuted under the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Our examination of judicial documents and media reports on this case provides new insights on the workings of corruption in the infrastructure sector. Odebrecht paid bribes for two reasons: to tailor the terms of the auction in its favor, as well as to obtain favorable terms in contract renegotiations. In projects where Odebrecht paid bribes, costs increased by 70.8 percent on average, compared with 5.6 percent for projects with no bribes. We also find that bribes and profits made from bribing were smaller than documented in most previous studies, in the range of one to two percent of the cost of a project.

scholarly journals Calculating Corporate Compliance & The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian S. Haney
Keyword(s):  
Cost Efficiency ◽  
Analytical Framework ◽  
Department Of Justice ◽  
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act ◽  
Corporate Compliance ◽  
Doing Business ◽  
Compliance Programs ◽  
Firm Compliance ◽  
Cost Efficient ◽  
The Cost

Technology is rapidly disrupting every industry and institution around the globe. Yet, corporate compliance has remained relatively unaffected by technological change when compared to other industries. If firms continue to lag behind in their compliance efforts, their risk exposure to the potentially lethal sanctions associated with major compliance failures will continue to increase with time. This is particularly true in the context of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Generally, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”) is a regulatory statute that forbids bribery and false accounting for domestic firms doing business abroad. And, in the past decade the DOJ and SEC have begun aggressively enforcing the FCPA. Firms should begin using technology to develop more robust and cost-efficient compliance programs to insulate themselves from the FCPA’s harsh penalties. This Article provides an algorithm that allows firms to evaluate and improve their compliance programs in accordance with several published sources of guidance. Compliance scholars have made clear that it is critical for firms to maintain strong corporate compliance programs and have suggested different models and frameworks for internal evaluation and auditing. However, those suggestions fail to consider how technology may be used to improve the cost-efficiency of corporate compliance and ethics programs. This Article takes an informatics-based approach to evaluating and improving firm compliance by focusing on the most important compliance functions according to the Department of Justice (“DOJ”), courts, and other Government actors. Indeed, firms may drastically improve the cost-efficiency of their compliance efforts by adopting the analytical framework proposed in this Article.

The Oil Industry and Africa: The Expanding Reach of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act

2011 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Stuart H. Deming
Keyword(s):  
Special Reference ◽  
Developing World ◽  
Oil Industry ◽  
Securities And Exchange Commission ◽  
Department Of Justice ◽  
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act ◽  
The Us ◽  
Over Time

As a statute designed to deter improper inducements to foreign officials in connection with business activities, the enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) has over time dramatically increased in its reach. This article examines the reach of the FCPA into Africa with special reference to corrupt practices in the oil industry. Owing to the combined enforcement activities of the US Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission, it concludes by arguing that the FCPA's impact and potency in the developing world will continue to grow.

The cost-utility of the rivastigmine transdermal patch in the management of patients with moderate Alzheimer's disease in the US

2009 ◽  
Vol 36 (S 02) ◽  
Author(s):  
A Brennan ◽  
B Nagy ◽  
A Brandtmüller ◽  
SK Thomas ◽  
M Gallagher ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Cost Utility ◽  
Transdermal Patch ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Cost

Linkage between Economic Value Added and Market Value: An Analysis

2000 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 23-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashok Banerjee
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Economic Value ◽  
Value Added ◽  
Market Value ◽  
Shareholder Wealth ◽  
Indian Context ◽  
The Us ◽  
Generating Capacity ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Future Growth

Maximizing shareholder value has become the new corporate paradigm. Corporations in the US have started disclosing EVA information from the beginning of 90s as a measure of corporate performance. It is believed that market value of a firm (hence shareholder wealth) would increase with the increase in EVA. Various studies done in the US also confirm this belief. EVA (a term coined and registered by Stern Stewart & Co. New York) is a residual income that subtracts the cost of capital from the operating profits generated by a business. The present study makes an at tempt to find the relevance of Stewart's claim that market value of the firm is largely driven by its EVA generating capacity in the Indian context. Based on a sample of 200 firms over a period of five years, the study shows that market value of a firm can be well predicted by estimated future EVA streams. The study has also found that market value of most of the firms in the sample is explained more by current operational value than future growth value of firms.

scholarly journals The comparison of vaccine hesitancy of COVID-19 vaccination in China and the United States

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Taoran Liu ◽  
Zonglin He ◽  
Jian Huang ◽  
Ni Yan ◽  
Qian Chen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Propensity Score ◽  
Propensity Score Matching ◽  
Discrete Choice ◽  
Choice Experiments ◽  
The United States ◽  
Discrete Choice Experiments ◽  
Vaccine Hesitancy ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Cost

AbstractObjectivesTo investigate the differences in vaccine hesitancy and preference of the currently available COVID-19 vaccines between two countries, viz. China and the United States (US).MethodA cross-national survey was conducted in both China and the US, and discrete choice experiments as well as Likert scales were utilized to assess vaccine preference and the underlying factors contributing to the vaccination acceptance. A propensity score matching (PSM) was performed to enable a direct comparison between the two countries.ResultsA total of 9,077 (5,375 and 3,702, respectively, from China and the US) respondents have completed the survey. After propensity score matching, over 82.0% respondents from China positively accept the COVID-19 vaccination, while 72.2% respondents form the US positively accept it. Specifically, only 31.9% of Chinese respondents were recommended by a doctor to have COVID-19 vaccination, while more than half of the US respondents were recommended by a doctor (50.2%), local health board (59.4%), or friends and families (64.8%). The discrete choice experiments revealed that respondents from the US attached the greatest importance to the efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines (44.41%), followed by the cost of vaccination (29.57%), whereas those from China held a different viewpoint that the cost of vaccination covers the largest proportion in their trade-off (30.66%), and efficacy ranked as the second most important attribute (26.34%). Also, respondents from China tend to concerned much more about the adverse effect of vaccination (19.68% vs 6.12%) and have lower perceived severity of being infected with COVID-19.ConclusionWhile the overall acceptance and hesitancy of COVID-19 vaccination in both countries are high, underpinned distinctions between countries are observed. Owing to the differences in COVID-19 incidence rates, cultural backgrounds, and the availability of specific COVID-19 vaccines in two countries, the vaccine rollout strategies should be nation-dependent.

scholarly journals On the ethics of doctors in capitalist countries

1981 ◽  
Vol 62 (5) ◽  
pp. 80-83
Author(s):  
S. Ya. Chikin
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Surgical Intervention ◽  
The United States ◽  
For Profit ◽  
Us Congress ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Cost

In 1977, the US Congress published statistics on the operation of surgical clinics in many cities in the country. These materials cannot be read without a shudder. They once again proved that American doctors are no different from businessmen in their passion for profit. The report's conclusion was very sad. He testified that up to three million unjustified surgeries are performed annually in the United States. Naturally, they are not undertaken for the sake of the patient's health, but in order to present a more weighty bill to the patient, because the cost of the simplest surgical intervention is now estimated at at least $ 1000.

scholarly journals Militarization, slow violence, and the emerging threat of condemnation in Hawai‘i

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 3.1-3.12
Author(s):  
N. Mahina Tuteur
Keyword(s):  
Active Role ◽  
Kanaka Maoli ◽  
Public Purpose ◽  
Us Military ◽  
Military Presence ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Cost ◽  
The Military ◽  
Fair Market Value

This article examines the environmental impacts of the US military presence in Hawaii, looking specifically at the federal government’s power to condemn land for a ‘public purpose’ under the US Constitution. In 2018, the Hawaii Supreme Court ruled that the State of Hawaii failed its duty to properly manage 23,000 acres of lands leased to the military at Pōhakuloa and must take an active role in preserving trust property. With the expiration of this lease (and several others) approaching in 2029, controversy is stirring as to whether the military will simply condemn these lands if the cost of clean-up is greater than the land’s fair-market value at the expiration of the lease. In other words, as long as it remains cheaper for the military to pollute and condemn than it is for it to restore, what options do we have for legal and political recourse? Considering grassroots movements’ strategic use of media and legal action through an environmental justice lens, this article provides a starting point to consider avenues for ensuring proper clean-up of these lands, and ultimately, negotiating for their return to Kānaka Maoli.

scholarly journals Criminal law measures of ensuring the security of the crypto sphere

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 155-162
Author(s):  
Oleg Stepanov ◽  
Denis Pechegin
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Law ◽  
Foreign Currency ◽  
Modern Society ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Legal Regulation ◽  
Financial Asset ◽  
Financial Instruments ◽  
The Us ◽  
Draft Bill ◽  
The Cost

In the first issue of the Bratislava Law Review magazine for 2018, our article addressed the problem of legal regulation of relations related to the crypto sphere “Failure to repatiate funds in foreign currency from abroad and modern issues of currency regulation” was published. In December 2017, Bitcoin predicted the cost of $ 40 – $ 100 thousand. However, in 2018, the situation changed-the Bitcoin exchange rate began to lose from $ 0.5 to $ 1 thousand per day, and its market capitalization fell to $ 70 billion. The crisis of the crypto market has affected not only the capitalization of cryptocurrencies, but also the issues of legal regulation of relations associated with its use. Currently, only three countries – Sweden, the Netherlands and Japan – recognize cryptocurrency as a legal means of payment. In Spain, the cryptocurrency is classified as an electronic means of payment only in relation to the gaming business. The legislation of Germany, as well as Finland, allows to classify cryptocurrencies as financial instruments. In China, Singapore and Norway cryptocurrency is considered as a financial asset in the US – as property, i.e. developed countries are in no hurry to equate cryptocurrency to means of payment. In Russia, the use of cryptocurrencies is not regulated by any rules, but there is no legislation prohibiting the circulation of cryptocurrencies as means of payment. At the same time, the draft bill “On digital nancial assets”, designed to regulate financial relations in the crypto sphere, completely excludes the issues of mining and circulation of existing crypto-currencies. However, new electronic entities carry certain risks associated with their turnover. In this regard, many States seek to develop mechanisms to ensure the security of actions in the new crypto sphere of legal relations before the direct legalization of cryptocurrencies and other modern electronic entities. The purpose of the article is to analyze the approaches related to the security of the crypto sphere in modern society by criminal law measures taking into account foreign experience.

Zero Emissions Vessels

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
John W. Boylston ◽  
Bret S. Smart ◽  
John P. Wise
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Protection Agency ◽  
East Coast ◽  
Cooling Water ◽  
Exhaust System ◽  
Control Area ◽  
Concept Design ◽  
Truck Traffic ◽  
The Road ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Cost

This paper proposes a LNG-fueled coastal RO/RO for the East Coast of the US trade to meet upcoming Emission Control Area (ECA) requirements. The exhaust system for this vessel is proposed to be a wet system so there is no airborne emission. The CO2 remaining in the exhaust system is removed in the exhaust stream, and remaining exhaust components are combined with cooling water to provide a cooling effluent that meets Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requirements. The concept design is carried to the point of determining operating economics, and the environmental effect of operating such ships is assessed as compared to conventional truck traffic. It was found that each ship will reduce East Coast highway truck traffic by over 1900 trucks per week. Since there are no emissions from the ship, each ship will also bring environmental advantages. It appears the ship would be economically competitive with conventional truck transport: the cost for transporting a single 53’ trailer via ship is roughly $996, compared to $1245 via truck. Furthermore, the proposed three vessel shipping service could potential-ly remove nearly 300,000 vehicles from the road annually.

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