Edward Elgar Publishing Rethinking Public Private Partnerships (Rethinking Economics series)

Public private partnerships (PPPs) have been a controversial approach to procuring public infrastructure services. Against a background of recent trenchant criticism of PPPs, Mervyn K. Lewis, a leading scholar in the area, re-examines their utility. He questions what PPPs can and cannot do, why governments choose this route and whether PPPs can ever be good value for money. The author analyses the extensive use of PPPs for hospitals and transport megaprojects and outlines the key challenges to implementing them, shaping the future direction of the PPP model. Exploring the psychological influences on decision-making, the book also puts a new focus on the people delivering the project; it is not only a matter of selecting the right model. Professor Lewis concludes that, although the PPP model remains problematic, if chosen appropriately every procurement approach has its place in good policy. Providing an in-depth exploration of the features of PPPs and the complexities of megaprojects, Rethinking Public Private Partnerships will be of considerable interest to academics and students of public policy, economic regulation and governance, and public finance. Its re-assessment of the field will also prove invaluable for government procurers, advisory firms and PPP experts.