Economic development and social welfare depend on the existence of effective and efficient infrastructure systems, particularly in health, energy, transportation and water, many of which are developed and managed through Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs). However, empirical evidence suggests...

Over the last two decades, infrastructure development has often been supported by public--private partnerships, particularly under concession arrangements. This paper addresses terminal concession contracts in the seaport sector, and especially the problem of risk-sharing. An effective...

Today's portfolio of energy production, based mostly on fossil fuels, and increasing energy consumption go against a sustainable vision for the world's development. Governments are shifting their energy policies towards renewable, nonpollutant sources of energy, developing large investment plans...

The economic crisis in most developed countries is fostering the search for new models for infrastructure planning and management. There is great uncertainty surrounding these investments and, therefore, it is necessary to capture the latent value from infrastructure projects. The principle is...

Following the liberalization wave in the airline sector, airports have been gradually taken out of the public sphere and open to the private initiative. This phenomenon is generally referred to as privatization, but not all the cases consist of, in fact, a full divestiture of assets. Although...

This book offers an essential guide to Public Finance and National Accounts in the context of the European Union. Since the creation of the Eurozone, fiscal policy has been at the heart of economic (but also political/media) discussions in the EU. From the Stability and Growth Pact (1997) to the...

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to propose and test a model on the impact of diversity over performance using a Portuguese national wide comprehensively matched employee–employer dataset of small businesses. Design/methodology/approach: The study uses structural equation modeling to...

Over the last few decades, public-private partnerships have been increasingly used by governments around the world to finance and manage complex operations. Doubts about their efficiency have been raised, however. Criticism of public-private partnerships reflects the fact that governments tend...