Searle Civil Justice Institute

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The Searle Civil Justice Institute has commissioned a Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”) Task Force to undertake a large-scale empirical study that examines the potential effects of enforcement actions on corporations and their related markets.

The FCPA was enacted in 1977 to prevent perceived corruption in the wake of allegations that several large corporations had bribed foreign officials. However, DOJ and SEC prosecutions were relatively infrequent until the mid-2000s. Commentators have offered several plausible explanations for the marked increase in enforcement actions. Regardless of the reason, businesses have expressed concerns over the economic consequences of increased agency scrutiny. This project will examine enforcement and prosecution under the FCPA and the resulting effects on target firms, stakeholders, industries, and geographic markets.
 
The Searle Civil Justice Institute Task Force on Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Enforcement will present a comprehensive, peer-reviewed Policy Report in 2012. Members of the Task Force include:

  • Jonathan Karpoff, Washington Mutual Endowed Professor in Finance, University of Washington
  • Mike Koehler, Assistant Professor of Business Law, Butler University
  • Scott Lee, Professor of Finance, Texas A&M University
  • Gerald Martin, Associate Professor, American University
  • Samantha Zyontz, Senior Research Associate, Searle Civil Justice Institute

For additional information regarding the Searle Civil Justice Institute or the Task Force on Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Enforcement please email Geoffrey J. Lysaught, deputy executive director of the Law & Economics Center, or call 703-993-8040.

George Mason University, Law & Economics Center, Searle Civil Justice Institute