Letting the briber go free: An experiment on mitigating harassment bribes

•Asymmetric liability has the potential to significantly reduce corrupt practices.•We conduct laboratory experiments to examine the impact of asymmetric liability.•Retaliation by bribe-takers reduce effectiveness of asymmetric liability.•Weak incentives for bribe-giver reduce effectiveness of asymmetric liability.

This paper examines the effectiveness of using asymmetric liability to combat harassment bribes. Asymmetric liability is a mechanism where bribe-takers are culpable but bribe-givers have legal immunity. Results from our experiment indicate that while this policy has the potential to significantly reduce corrupt practices, weak economic incentives for the bribe-giver, or retaliation by bribe-takers can mitigate the disciplining effect of such an implementation. Asymmetric liability on its own may hence face challenges in the field.