This paper explores the procurement of public buildings in local authorities in the UK under the Private Finance Initiative (PFI) and its consequences for small and medium sized enterprises. Following an outline of the development of PFI in the UK, the paper explains the peculiarities of local...

Government outsourcing of services to private sector entities is increasingly common. The conventional wisdom ties governments’ outsourcing decisions to either an ideological preference for market-based solutions or to fiscal pressures; however, these conjectures have not been systematically...

Does an increase in lending by multinational development banks affect the private lending activity in developing countries? We show that this is indeed the case using data on loans and investments by the European Investment Bank (EIB) in combination with data on syndicated loans. We find that a...

During the subprime financial crisis of 2007-2009, the U.S. transformed its policies from a focus on privatization and deregulation to one where the government plays an active role as a market participant. By the end of the 2009 fiscal year, the U.S. government became one of the largest...

We empirically investigate the effect of procurement oversight on contract outcomes. In particular, we stress a distinction between public and private oversight: the former is a set of bureaucratic checks enacted by contracting offices, while the latter is carried out by private insurance...

We empirically investigate the effect of procurement oversight on contract outcomes. In particular, we stress a distinction between public and private oversight: the former is a set of bureaucratic checks enacted by contracting offices, while the latter is carried out by private insurance...

We empirically investigate the effect of oversight on contract outcomes in public procurement. In particular, we stress a distinction between public and private oversight: the former is a set of bureaucratic checks enacted by contracting offices, while the latter is carried out by private...

Should the buyer of a customized good use competitive bidding or negotiation to select a contractor? To shed light on this question, we offer a framework that compares auctions with negotiations. We then examine a comprehensive data set of private sector building contracts awarded in Northern...

Where is the space sector headed? How can public and private actors work together to solve mutual challenges and sustain growth? What is the role of government programmes and funding? This paper addresses these and other questions by reviewing the evolving relationship between public and private...