Public procurement: new EU data suggest UK public contracts have been particularly hit during COVID-19

Issues with public procurement during the pandemic have brought to the fore the importance of transparency. Calls for greater transparency in the negotiation, award, and renegotiation of public contracts are not new, but how much progress has been made in recent years, and how has the COVID-19 influenced approaches to public contracting? Stéphane Saussier shares some initial findings from research looking into these questions

Putting All One's Eggs in One Basket: Relational Contracts and the Provision of Local Public Services

The provision of local public services is increasingly being contracted out to private companies. We observe that local governments regularly choose the same private operator for a range of different services, and develop a model of relational contracts that shows how this strategy may lead to better performance at lower cost for public authorities. We test the implication of our model using an original database of the contractual choices made by 5000 French local public authorities in the years 1998, 2001 and 2004.bundling; contract; public-private partnerships; local public services

Are Public Private Partnerships that Rigid ? And Why ? : Evidence from Toll Road Concession Contracts

Transport concession contracts are commonly said to be standardized and too rigid. They would not allow public authorities to adapt them to evolving context and circumstances. This paper aims at challenging this view and, more particularly, the view that contractual rigidity for transport concessions is exogenous. Using a transaction cost framework, we disentangle between three main determinants of contractual rigidity: traffic uncertainty; connivance between contracting parties; quality of the institutional environment. Using an original database of toll road concession contracts, we observe a great variety of provisions for toll adjustment. We find that these exogenous determinants significantly influence contractual choices

Theories of the firm: How to rule out competing views?

Comment expliquer l’existence de la firme, l’arbitrage entre faire et faire-faire ? À partir d’une comparaison des propositions de la théorie des coûts de transaction et de l’approche en terme de ressources, nous montrons que les travaux empiriques ne permettent pas de les départager. À partir d’une discussion sur la méthodologie empirique, nous avançons que les théories devraient être testées les unes par rapport aux autres au lieu de réaliser des tests qui corroborent les propositions qui leur sont spécifiques.What is a firm? What explains the trade-off between make-or buy decisions? Based on a discussion confronting the Transaction Cost Theory and the Resource-based view, we show that despite many empirical studies, very few are shaped in order to rule out competing views of the firm. The paper raises the question of the methodology of empirical testing: theories should be tested one against the other instead of simply corroborating the propositions specific to each theoretical framework

Strengthening the efficiency of public procurement

Public procurement, the generic term used to refer to procurement contracts (traditional procurement), public service delegations (including concessions) and public private partnerships, currently represents today significant amounts of money as it is believed to account for nearly 15% of the GDP in France. Whilst the public procurement system must strive to achieve the best possible performance in terms of cost and service, its inefficiency is highlighted on a regular basis. In (actual) fact, substantial gains could be achieved through a more efficient management of the system. The present Note examines potential avenues of action, in the framework of the regulatory changes currently under way at European level, with the aim of increasing the efficiency of the public procurement system. The contracts upon which the public procurement system is based are subject to certain asymmetries of information (in that the company is more familiar with its costs and the economic environment than the public party) and contractual incompleteness (since it is impossible to foresee every possible event that might arise during the execution of the contract). This being the case, the economic analysis recommends that competitive forces be used wherever possible when it comes to selecting partners and that incentive mechanisms be put in place to establish a real commitment of the parties concerned. New European Directives regarding procurement contracts and concessions, approved in 2014 and expected to be transposed by 2016, will give public authorities greater flexibility to negotiate with companies at both the selection stage and the execution stage (renegotiation). We believe this change to be a positive and economically justified one. It is, however, crucial that it be supported by specific terms governing its management that are not currently outlined in the Directives. Our recommendations are based on three key avenues, namely transparency, competition and expertise. The negotiation procedure must be supported by transparent information both prior to and following negotiation. During the execution stage, it must be possible for amendments to contracts to be contested without debilitating the process by facilitating an increase in the number of futile appeals. We also put forward a number of recommendations designed to encourage greater transparency where public procurement is concerned. For the purposes of intensifying competition at the tendering stage it would be useful to limit the number of electronic information platforms and to merge them towards a high-performance standardised model. At the same time, it is advisable to simplify procedures, to increase the professionalisation of public buyers and to centralise the most standard of purchases in order to benefit from economies of scale and pool the experience of public buyers. Finally, with regards to large-scale projects, we would recommend that a comparative evaluation be performed beforehand in order to determine the most appropriate public procurement tool to meet the needs of the public authorities concerned. The agency responsible for this prior evaluation would also perform ex post evaluations with a view to drawing lessons regarding the various tools and procedures available

Atelier Petroşani

Gilles Saussier propose depuis la fin des années 1990 une activité construite autour d’un nombre choisi de projets documentaires, dont les photographies ont en commun le rapport à la mémoire des sans-voix, l’histoire racontée par les pouvoirs, dont les médias, la relation du document au monument. Il a participé aux expositions “Des territoires” (Paris, école nationale supérieure des beaux-arts, 2001), documenta11 (Kassel, 2002), “Covering the Real” (Bâle, Kunstmuseum, 2005), “L’archive universelle, la condition du document et l’utopie photographique moderne” (Barcelone, MACBA, 2008). Il a notamment publié Studio Shakhari bazar (2006) et Le Tableau de chasse (2010) aux éditions du Point du jour (Paris). Les photographies d’Atelier Petroşani ont été réalisées dans le cadre d’une bourse de résidence CulturesFrance (2010). Gilles Saussier était accompagné par Emmanuel Sapet qui signe la photo­graphie page 108.Gilles Saussier has worked on a range of documentary projects since the late 1990s, including photographs devoted to those unable to make their voices heard, to history as recounted by those in power – including the media – and to the relationship between document and monument. He has contributed to the exhibitions Des territoires (ENSBA Paris 2001), Documenta 11 (Kassel 2002), Covering the Real (Kunstmuseum Basel 2005), and Universal Archive (MACBA Barcelona 2008). His books include Studio Shakhari Bazar (2006) and Le Tableau de chasse (2010), published by Editions du Point du Jour. His photographs of the Petroşani Workshops were taken during a CulturesFrance residency in 2010. He was accompanied by Emmanuel Sapet, who took the photo on page 108

Introduction

En 2011, la commande publique a représenté près de 88 milliards d’euros, soit environ 4,5 % du PIb français (OEAP 2013), en augmentation de 30 % par rapport à 2010. ces dépenses prennent majoritairement la forme de marchés publics. Sont aussi comptabilisés dans les chiffres ci-dessus les contrats de partenariat récemment créés en France en juin 2004. ces derniers prennent une importance de plus en plus grande puisque depuis 2011, la France est au premier rang européen en ce qui concerne le mo..

Introduction. « Partenariats public privé et performances des services publics »

En 2011, la commande publique a représenté près de 88 milliards d’euros, soit environ 4,5 % du PIB français (OEAP 2013), en augmentation de 30 % par rapport à 2010. Ces dépenses prennent majoritairement la forme de marchés publics. Sont aussi comptabilisés dans les chiffres ci-dessus les contrats de partenariat récemment créés en France en juin 2004. Ces derniers prennent une importance de plus en plus grande puisque depuis 2011, la France est au premier rang européen en ce qui concerne le mo..

Atelier Petroşani

Gilles Saussier propose depuis la fin des années 1990 une activité construite autour d’un nombre choisi de projets documentaires, dont les photographies ont en commun le rapport à la mémoire des sans-voix, l’histoire racontée par les pouvoirs, dont les médias, la relation du document au monument. Il a participé aux expositions “Des territoires” (Paris, école nationale supérieure des beaux-arts, 2001), documenta11 (Kassel, 2002), “Covering the Real” (Bâle, Kunstmuseum, 2005), “L’archive universelle, la condition du document et l’utopie photographique moderne” (Barcelone, MACBA, 2008). Il a notamment publié Studio Shakhari bazar (2006) et Le Tableau de chasse (2010) aux éditions du Point du jour (Paris). Les photographies d’Atelier Petroşani ont été réalisées dans le cadre d’une bourse de résidence CulturesFrance (2010). Gilles Saussier était accompagné par Emmanuel Sapet qui signe la photo­graphie page 108.Gilles Saussier has worked on a range of documentary projects since the late 1990s, including photographs devoted to those unable to make their voices heard, to history as recounted by those in power – including the media – and to the relationship between document and monument. He has contributed to the exhibitions Des territoires (ENSBA Paris 2001), Documenta 11 (Kassel 2002), Covering the Real (Kunstmuseum Basel 2005), and Universal Archive (MACBA Barcelona 2008). His books include Studio Shakhari Bazar (2006) and Le Tableau de chasse (2010), published by Editions du Point du Jour. His photographs of the Petroşani Workshops were taken during a CulturesFrance residency in 2010. He was accompanied by Emmanuel Sapet, who took the photo on page 108

Introduction

En 2011, la commande publique a représenté près de 88 milliards d’euros, soit environ 4,5 % du PIb français (OEAP 2013), en augmentation de 30 % par rapport à 2010. ces dépenses prennent majoritairement la forme de marchés publics. Sont aussi comptabilisés dans les chiffres ci-dessus les contrats de partenariat récemment créés en France en juin 2004. ces derniers prennent une importance de plus en plus grande puisque depuis 2011, la France est au premier rang européen en ce qui concerne le mo..