The market should take care of it like it has for every other type of tipping: the fixed wages of the maitre d' would drop to compensate for the expected compen

The market should take care of it like it has for every other type of tipping: the fixed wages of the maitre d' would drop to compensate for the expected compensation in bribes. I don't have the data to prove it, but I suspect this has already happened to some extent and the restaurants themselves benefit indirectly from the bribes. I think the "level playing field" here is an illusion anyway. I can't afford to go to a $375/person restaurant with or without the bribe.