quid pro quo

quid pro quo, in business and politics, an exchange of goods, services, or other benefits between two parties in which the exchanged items are regarded by the parties as being of comparable value. From the 16th through the 18th centuries, the expression quid pro quo was often used by apothecaries to refer to the substitution of one medicine or medicinal ingredient for another. In its modern usage the expression is often applied to acts of bribery and other unethical and potentially illegal exchanges. In a more general sense, a quid pro quo is a type of reciprocity wherein both parties agree, and thereby obligate themselves, to an exchange of benefits. Of course, not all reciprocal exchanges of benefits are quid pro quos, because it is possible for the parties involved to give comparable benefits to each other without having previously committed themselves to do so.

In business, the term quid pro quo signifies an agreed-upon exchange of goods, services, or other benefits of equal or comparable value. Likewise, in politics, a quid pro quo denotes an exchange of benefits, wherein at least one of the parties has agreed to exercise political authority or influence (or to forbear such exercise or influence) on behalf of the other party. In both business and politics, the ethical and legal status of quid pro quos varies widely, ranging from completely legitimate and legal to blatantly corrupt and illegal.

In a legal context, the concept of quid pro quo is closely connected to the notion of consideration, understood as an inducement to enter into a contract. The common law of contracts rests upon the preexisting social practice of making promises and thereby committing oneself to a set of actions. Contract law identifies some types of interpersonal commitment as being potentially legally binding and enforceable. The existence of sufficient and appropriate consideration in the contract is essential to this demarcation. According to the influential “bargain theory” of consideration, developed by the American legal scholar Christopher Columbus Langdell (1826–1906), consideration is “the thing given or done by the promisee in exchange for the promise,” wherein the promise consists of a commitment to provide goods, services, money, or other benefits to the promisee. Notably, “the thing given or done by the promisee” may consist of a particular benefit provided to the promisor or a “counterpromise” to provide such a benefit. Conceived on the basis of the bargain theory, a contractual quid pro quo is thus an exchange of a benefit for a promise or an exchange of one promise for another.

In addition to its role in contract law, the concept of quid pro quo is salient in various legal procedures involving exchanges of benefits, such as the act of entering into a plea bargain. In labour law, the notion of quid pro quo refers to a situation in which workers relinquish their right to strike in exchange for a promise by their employer to submit their contract grievances to arbitration.

As previously mentioned, the concept of quid pro quo is often raised in the prosecution of bribery. Another relevant criminal act is so-called quid pro quo sexual harassment, which generally takes place in work environments. In such a situation, a sexual harasser makes unwelcome sexual advances on a lower-level employee and solicits compliance in a sexual act or acts either by promising a particular reward (such as a raise or promotion) or threatening a particular punishment (such as a dismissal or demotion).