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.

Table of Contents:
Contents: Preface 1. Setting the scene 2. How did the idea of PPPs arise? 3. Exploring what PPPs can and cannot do 4. Can PPPs ever be good value? 5. Why choose a PPP? 6. PPPs and megaprojects 7. Where to now for PPPs? 8. Conclusions References Index

About the Author :
Mervyn K. Lewis, Emeritus Professor, University of South Australia and Emeritus Fellow, Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia

Review :
‘Rethinking Public Private Partnerships by Mervyn Lewis is an invaluable addition to the literature on the procurement of public infrastructure assets and services. It evaluates the conflicting claims in both the academic and professional literature about the relative value-for-money (VfM) to the public of bundled procurement of the financing, design, construction and operation of infrastructure assets through PPPs vs. traditional, unbundled delivery of projects through public finance and a chain of private contractors and subcontractors managed by a public agency. The book is engaging, clearly written, jargon-free, scrupulously balanced, and nuanced in its conclusions about the circumstances under which each approach delivers higher lifecycle VfM to the public. It is a ''must-read'' for academics, private infrastructure providers and public agencies contemplating the use of PPPs.'