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Corruption in Cuba: Castro and Beyoad. Sergio Diaz-Briquets and Jorge Pérez-Lopez. University of Texas Press, 2006. 303 pp., bibliographical references, notes, 1 chart, 15 tables, appendices and index. $55.00 cloth (ISBN 978-0-292-71321-5), $21.95 paper (ISBN 9780-292-71482-3).
On a recent trip to Havana, I experienced first-hand some of the tricks of the trade of corruption in today's Cuba. Loaded down with gifts, I discovered that my 59 kilograms of luggage was nearly three times the permitted 20 kgs. One particularly accommodating immigration officer volunteered to be my guide, but still made a show of emphasizing the inflexible rules. "I'm sorry but we only allow 20 kgs. of overweight for which you will have to pay $10 for each kilogram," she said. "Anything beyond that will be confiscated." Shocked, I quickly calculated that I would have to give up $200 to the authorities and still be forced to surrender the remaining 19 kgs. of my luggage. The custom's official, however, proposed a solution: "The charge is $200 for which you will be assured of getting through customs with all your luggage intact. Take it or leave it." Realizing that she had me in an awkward position, I quickly slipped her two $100 bills and allowed her to play interference with the throng of customs officials guarding the airport exit.
While this brief episode is laden with lessons about how petty corruption functions in today's Cuba, it highlights the central argument presented by Diaz-Briquets and Pérez-Lopez in their volume, Corruption in Cuba: all else being equal, the potential for corruption increases when state monopoly and bureaucratic discretion over the allocation of goods and services are maximized, while accountability...