Once a government has decided to award a concession by auction, it needs to decide what kind of auction to use. For concessions the standard is a first-price sealed bid auction in which bidders submit sealed envelopes containing their offer and the highest offer determines the price. The bidding...

Should a conceding authority auction off or negotiate a contract for an exclusive private infrastructure deal? Advocates of negotiation often argue that a formal competition may take too much time, that the costs of preparing bids may be excessive, and that innovation may be discouraged. But...

Infrastructure concession contracts set out the performance obligations and rights of concessionaires and the incentives and risks under which they operate, including pricing arrangements. The clarity with which these terms can be defined determines whether there is likely to be renegotiations...