COMPARING PPP WITH TRADITIONAL PROCUREMENT: THE CASE OF SCHOOLS PROCUREMENT IN IRELAND

Advocates of public‐private partnerships (PPPs) argue that they can deliver public infrastructure more efficiently than traditional procurement through timelier completion and superior value for money. Despite these claims comparative analysis of the performance of both procurement methods has received scant attention in the PPP literature to date. This paper addresses this issue by providing an in‐depth, case‐based comparison of PPP versus traditional procurement in the schools sector in Ireland. Through detailed semi‐structured interviews with key stakeholders and an examination of the available documentation, we assess whether the key objectives of using PPP have been achieved. Overall, we find no evidence that PPP leads to faster delivery of infrastructure when the overall procurement process from contract notice to delivery is accounted for. In addition, we find only limited evidence to suggest that PPP results in better value for money.     

UNDERSTANDING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN INFRASTRUCTURE PUBLIC‒PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS AND INNOVATION

While the contemporary academic discourse regards innovation as an inherent feature of infrastructure public?private partnerships (PPPs), the conceptual link between infrastructure PPPs and innovation is narrowly understood. While most existing studies conceptualize the innovation processes and effects within the context of PPP projects, we argue that the relevance of innovation in infrastructure PPPs goes beyond specific projects. In this conceptual article, we examine why and how infrastructure PPP innovations can shape the evolution of the involved private and public sector organizations – and therefore the respective sectors – more broadly. We show that innovation in the context of PPPs has much broader implications and potential outcomes than as emphasized in the literature so far.     

Innovative Financing: An Empirical Study on Public–Private Partnership Securitisation in China

Many localities in China are faced with an outdated, segmented infrastructure system and a shrinking budget. However, the state‐led promotion of Public–Private Partnerships (PPPs) in China is providing an innovative solution. This paper looks at financing innovations in China such as industrial funds and asset‐backed securitisation for PPP projects. Particularly, this paper empirically studies the characteristics of project revenue bonds and PPP asset‐backed securities (PPP–ABS) in China. The study finds that the majority of social investors remain state‐owned enterprises (SOEs) and returns on whole business securitisation (WBS) of projects could vary with the volume issued and the credit of the company. Securitisation not only solves the problem of limited source of financing, but also improves the efficiency of management. While securitisation of PPP projects can succeed in tapping social capital to invest infrastructures, the banking system should handle with caution the credit risk and default risk caused by rising leverage of PPP special purpose vehicles (SPVs).     

UNPACKING THE INFLUENCE OF PUBLIC–PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS ON DISASTER RESILIENCE: A COMPARISON OF EXPERT PERSPECTIVES

Public managers are under increasing pressure to develop and operate physical infrastructure systems that prove resilient in the face of natural disasters. At the same time, fiscal pressures and mounting infrastructure needs are drawing more and more attention to public–private partnerships (PPP) as a mechanism for delivering infrastructure. The research question guiding this study is how can the institutional designs of PPPs influence the potential for improving infrastructure resilience? We examined the perceived relationship between infrastructure resilience and PPPs by conducting and analyzing research interviews with twenty‐four senior infrastructure experts in Washington, DC. The results reflect findings of related privatization research, indicating that market‐based incentives can advance public values such as resilience, but the responsibility for ensuring they do so rests primarily with government. We note key differences in how the infrastructure investment experts and disaster resilience experts view issues in infrastructure management, and provide suggestions for improving public‐private collaboration to improve resilience.     

INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT – THE EMERGENT PPP EQUITY MARKET

Increasingly governments are looking to private sector actors to invest in infrastructure projects. An emergent mechanism for such investment is the market in PPP equity. This is an aspect of PPPs that has to date had little empirical attention. This paper reports on the size and scope of the market in PPP equity sales within the UK. In the process, the nature of PPP projects and the existing rationales for the policy are critiqued. The paper concludes by laying out a number of potential research agendas focused on PPP equity sales including a call for reassessing theoretical perspectives.     

The determinants of tendering periods for PPP procurement in the UK: an empirical analysis

The procurement of infrastructure projects via public–private partnerships (PPPs) is rising globally. PPPs are, however, often characterized by lengthy tendering periods, defined as the difference between contract notice and financial close. Tendering periods are important because they account for a significant proportion of overall project delivery time. Slow tendering deters bidders and thus reduces competition for contracts. We source data on 670 PPP projects in the United Kingdom and use a duration analysis model to empirically examine factors that impact tendering period duration. Our results reveal significant sectoral variation with projects in the health and housing sectors taking significantly longer to reach financial close. We also show that, after controlling for other factors, projects with higher capital values and projects that overlap with the timing of general elections are associated with significantly longer tendering periods. We further examine the impact of the competitive dialogue procurement method and find evidence that tendering periods have increased since 2006; the year competitive dialogue was introduced. We do, however, observe a significant reduction in the time between appointment of preferred bidder and financial close post-2006. This suggests that competitive dialogue is effective in reducing the scope for negotiations by preferred bidders holding quasi-monopoly advantages.     

THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF PUBLIC‐PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS AND ANALYSIS OF THEIR SOCIAL VALUE*

ABSTRACT: This article applies political economy theory to public‐private partnerships (PPPs). First, we propose that social welfare is the appropriate normative evaluation criterion to evaluate the social value of PPPs. Second, we specify the goals of PPP participants, including private‐sector partners and governments. Third, we review the observed outcomes of PPPs and analyze them from both a political economy perspective and a social welfare perspective. Fourth, based on a comparison of the actual outcomes of PPPs to normatively desirable social welfare outcomes, we propose some ‘rules for governments’ concerning the design of government PPP institutions and the management of PPPs. We argue that if governments were to adopt these rules there would be fewer PPPs in total, they would be more like traditional government contracts and there would be a greater likelihood of improved social welfare. However, political economy theory also explains why implementation of any reform will be difficult.     

THE USE OF PPP ARRANGEMENTS IN STREET LIGHTING: A WIN‐WIN OPTION?

Street lighting is a classic example of a public good, and governments are extensively involved in its provision. Adequate lighting facilitates both car traffic and personal safety while improving an urban area's character. However, many systems are mismanaged and obsolete, incurring high energy costs and emissions with relatively low lighting quality. Public authorities facing budget constraints often find retrofitting old street‐lighting systems challenging. They have two options: either direct in‐house, public‐authority renovation or contracting with a private company through a public–private partnership (PPP). Although private‐sector‐participation approaches vary, most public authorities can now enter into a street‐light modernization PPP agreement. That can be a win‐win option for both the public and private sectors. The upfront investment is small and operational expenses outweigh capital expenses, generating lower payback periods and energy‐cost reduction with light‐emitting diode (LED) technology. Little public expenditure is necessary when private partners are compensated via shared energy savings. We analyze the Detroit street‐light PPP – the United States’ first – and find that PPPs are practical for retrofitting US street lights and in other countries where they are antiquated.     

THE DIVERSITY GAP IN THE PUBLIC–PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP INDUSTRY: AN EXAMINATION OF WOMEN AND VISIBLE MINORITIES IN SENIOR LEADERSHIP POSITIONS

Despite intense focus on leadership diversity in industries such as high technology, business, the media and academia, to date the infrastructure sector has not received the same level of scrutiny. This paper develops a theoretical framework to explain why leadership diversity matters in the management of complex infrastructure projects delivered through public – private partnerships, and then empirically identifies the diversity gap in senior leadership in the PPP industry worldwide. The study is based on an examination of over 2,800 public and private sector executives, board members and politicians responsible for PPPs in over 90 countries. The results show that women and racial minorities are significantly underrepresented in senior leadership roles, a pattern that is deeply entrenched and consistent globally. The paper concludes by discussing the implications of the findings for the infrastructure industry, and explores how a lack of leadership diversity can influence project management outcomes.     

IS A SOCIAL EMPOWERMENT OF PPP FOR INFRASTRUCTURE DELIVERY POSSIBLE? LESSONS FROM SOCIAL IMPACT BONDS

Social Impact Bonds (SIBs) have emerged in recent years as outcome‐based public‐private partnerships (PPP) for the delivery of welfare services, where the payment to the private operator is linked to the achievement of superior social impact. Since the traditional infrastructure‐based PPP approach seems to have failed to achieve higher level of efficiency and, above all, effectiveness, this paper discusses the extent to which the SIB model can represent a reference point to innovate the PPP model by introducing more focus on outcome achievement and social value generation.     

Estimating Purchasing Power Parities from Household Expenditure Data Using Complete Demand Systems with Application to Living Standards Comparison: India and Vietnam

This study departs from the previous literature on purchasing power parity (PPP) by proposing a demand system based methodology for calculating the PPP that takes account of consumer preferences and allows for the substitution effect of price changes. The methodology is used to calculate the PPP between the Indian Rupee and the Vietnamese Dong. The study allows for regional variation in preferences and price changes both inside the country and between countries. It proposes and applies a methodology for constructing prices from unit values after adjusting them for quality and demographic effects. The adjusted unit values are used as prices in the demand estimations, and the demand parameter estimates are used to calculate both spatial prices within each country and the PPP between the two countries within a consistent framework. The study illustrates the usefulness of preference consistent methods to calculate the PPP by applying the PPPs to compare living standards between India and Vietnam. The significance of the results follows from the fact that the levels of living comparisons are quite sensitive to the PPP used in converting the Rupee expenditure into Vietnamese Dong. The present results on food PPPs question the relevance of the PPPs from the ICP project in cross‐country welfare comparisons especially in a period of high food inflation.     

Determinants of adaptation costs in procurement: an empirical estimation on Italian public works contracts

It is widely agreed that rules governing public procurement should be designed to achieve value for money. However, in the public works sector, ‘…?the good being procured is usually complex and hard to be exactly specified ex ante, …?[and] alterations to the original project might be needed after the contract is awarded. This may result in considerable discrepancies between the lowest winning bid and the actual costs that are incurred by the buyer’ (Bajari et al., 2006). There is now a wide body of literature focusing on cost escalation during the execution of contracts and their estimates reveal that it can be often quite large. This article is aimed at offering an empirical test of the determinants of adaptation costs in the public works procurement. Using a detailed data set on Italian public works contracts, we run an empirical analysis, grounded on the main conclusions reached in the literature, to test for the main drivers of adaptation costs.     

基于云模型的基础设施项目可持续性评价

基础设施项目可持续性评价是基础设施项目决策的重要组成部分。在文献研究的基础上,构建了城镇基础设施项目可持续性评价指标体系。在评价过程中,针对基础设施项目可持续性表现出的随机性和模糊性等特点和评价过程中决策者可能存在的属性状态偏好,引入云模型描述基础设施项目可持续性的各属性,实现了基础设施项目可持续性的不确定性度量,并通过惩罚因子对属性值进行修正,提出了基于云模型的基础设施项目可持续性评价方法。     

How (Not) to Foster Innovations in Public Infrastructure Projects*

The government wants an infrastructure‐based public service to be provided. First, the infrastructure has to be built; subsequently, it has to be operated. Should the government bundle the building and operating tasks in a public–private partnership? Or should it choose traditional procurement (i.e., delegate the tasks to different firms)? Each task entails unobservable investments to come up with innovations. It turns out that, depending on the nature of the innovations, bundling can either stimulate or discourage investments. Moreover, we find that if renegotiation cannot be prevented, public–private partnerships might lead the government to deliberately opt for technologically inferior projects.     

Sustainability,Social Discount Rates and the Selection of Project Procurement Method

The notion of sustainability has lead to the evaluation of public projects in terms of wider socio-economic and environmental benefits. The Cost Benefit Analysis and its respective, Social Discount Rate (SDR), is of crucial importance, especially when the advantages of private financing are to be demonstrated in comparison with the alternative traditional procurement of works and services. The SDR seen as a measure of a country’s value of future costs and benefits is related to the notion of promoted sustainability. The impact of smaller and declining SDRs on project selection is investigated, and a conceptual formulation concerning the selection of the project procurement method is presented. The modelled formulation will assist central and local governments in assessing projects and the potential benefit of private financing.     

PPP如何影响地方财政风险*——来自债券市场反应的证据

政府与社会资本合作（PPP）的倡导者认为PPP能够为地方政府分担财政压力，分散投资风险，提高资源配置效率；其反对者则认为PPP背后隐藏着政府的隐性担保和补贴、腐败和寻租，预算内的财政压力减小只是一种财政幻觉，反倒无形中累积了系统性风险。本文利用中国2015—2020年间的债券发行数据以及PPP在各地的落地信息，以地方政府债券为实验组，以国债和金融债为控制组，构建双重差分模型，检验PPP集中落地是否增加了地方财政风险，进而抬升了地方政府债券的发行成本。实证结果表明，2016—2017年左右的PPP集中落地使得地方政府债券发行受到来自市场的利率惩罚，5年期地方债发行利率的风险溢价为67个基点~297个基点，10年期地方债发行利率的风险溢价为21个基点~41个基点，且这种效应在PPP项目较多和较少的地区之间存在异质性。更换控制组、推后PPP项目对地方财政的实际冲击时间、假设虚假的实验组等一系列稳健性检验证明这一发现具有可信性。此外，本文还讨论了这一实证结果背后的可能原因，并提出促进PPP良性发展的措施。     

PPP项目控制权转移机制研究*——基于探索性多案例的分析

提高民营企业参与PPP项目的控制权是激发民营企业创新活力、降低运营成本的重要举措。民营企业参与PPP项目的过程，实质是政府让渡控制权与企业获取控制权的动态博弈过程。本文从合作治理的视角，以同一家民营企业参与的两个城市公用事业PPP项目为研究对象，提炼影响城市公用事业PPP项目控制权转移的关键要素，采用探索性多案例研究方法，挖掘民营企业参与PPP项目的控制权转移机制，发现政府制度能力、企业动态能力、市场竞争强度是影响控制权转移的关键要素，政企关系对上述三类影响路径起到积极的调节作用。相应的，民营企业参与PPP项目的控制权转移存在三条基本路径，即能力转移、关系转移和市场转移。本研究不仅丰富了PPP项目控制权的研究成果，还可以为提高民营企业参与PPP项目的控制权提供指导与借鉴。     

PPP如何影响地方财政风险*——来自债券市场反应的证据

政府与社会资本合作（PPP）的倡导者认为PPP能够为地方政府分担财政压力，分散投资风险，提高资源配置效率；其反对者则认为PPP背后隐藏着政府的隐性担保和补贴、腐败和寻租，预算内的财政压力减小只是一种财政幻觉，反倒无形中累积了系统性风险。本文利用中国2015—2020年间的债券发行数据以及PPP在各地的落地信息，以地方政府债券为实验组，以国债和金融债为控制组，构建双重差分模型，检验PPP集中落地是否增加了地方财政风险，进而抬升了地方政府债券的发行成本。实证结果表明，2016—2017年左右的PPP集中落地使得地方政府债券发行受到来自市场的利率惩罚，5年期地方债发行利率的风险溢价为67个基点~297个基点，10年期地方债发行利率的风险溢价为21个基点~41个基点，且这种效应在PPP项目较多和较少的地区之间存在异质性。更换控制组、推后PPP项目对地方财政的实际冲击时间、假设虚假的实验组等一系列稳健性检验证明这一发现具有可信性。此外，本文还讨论了这一实证结果背后的可能原因，并提出促进PPP良性发展的措施。     

TWO DECADES OF DBFO ROADS IN THE UK AND SPAIN: AN EVALUATION OF THE FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE

Road schemes are of major importance in the global PPP market. We focus on Design‐Build‐Finance‐Operate (DBFO) arrangements covered by shadow toll or availability payment mechanisms, where the UK and Spain are key players. Now that a good number of DBFO schemes in the UK and Spain have been operational for well over half the contract period, there is scope for a detailed ex post evaluation of DBFO performance in both countries and an analysis of how the DBFO model has evolved. Preliminary results show that these contracts continue to be very expensive for public administrations, especially in the UK, where the financing costs and fee per kilometre are high. On the other hand, they are an easy source of revenue for the parent companies of the concessionaires, where the increased use of subordinated debt rather than equity seeks to reduce risk. However, despite circumventing the controversial hard‐tolling, some projects in both Spain and the UK present poor outcomes. Several other problems around these projects are identified, including lack of public accountability and transparency or poor governance, raising long‐term questions around affordability and opportunities for further study.     

PPP模式下轨道交通项目干系人动态管控

公私合营PPP模式作为基础设施项目融资建设的新方式,在城市轨道交通项目中的应用已成为新的研究热点。PPP项目结构复杂、参与方众多,决策和设计阶段的干系人管理对项目顺利实施有较大影响。根据利益相关者理论,在识别徐州城市轨道交通项目干系人,并对其进一步细分的基础上,详细分析了徐州城市轨道交通项目各干系人的期望与要求,提出了基于全寿命周期的项目干系人动态管控,可从主体识别、参与动力、参与过程以及绩效评价机制4个方面提高管理效率,为PPP模式下项目干系人管理策略决策提供一种新思路,对于同类项目管理实践具有一定指导意义。