4 ms·

> Then they should simply charge the higher amount. The normal cost goes to their boss. The bribe goes to them. The bribe is just another version of tipping cu

• mrtksn 6y ago
  I think once I heard something like "In the west you pay bribes so that the officials don't do their job, in the middle east you pay bribes so that they do their jobs". I'm familiar with high-bribe environments and used to go through bribery intensive border between Bulgaria-Turkey. It's a breeze for the regulars, they know why their document is not processed or why the bus is being kept and know the channel, and the expected bribes so they easily pay and go through. The problem is, when you are not a regular you simply get frustrated because you can't just ask how much since there are anti-corruption measure in place that need to be avoided. You need o go somewhere or give it to someone seemingly unrelated. It can be somewhat parallel to tipping culture but in tipping they do their job an expect a gratitude payment, which doesn't slow down or block the process. The bribery culture has it's own dark side since you need to be coerced into doing it. Also, the Turkey-Bulgaria border often gets busted for running large scale duty free alcohol and cigarettes contraband. That's when they get bribed for not doing their job(of preventing contraband), the "pay to get things done" bribery mostly died off because of the digitalisation. Don't search my car, don't inspect my bus in exchange of cigarettes bribery still lives though.