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Public procurement in times of crisis: The bundling decision reconsidered

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  • Schmitz, Patrick W.

Abstract

The government wants two tasks to be performed. In each task, unobservable effort can be exerted by a wealth-constrained private contractor. If the government faces no binding budget constraints, it is optimal to bundle the tasks. The contractor in charge of both tasks then gets a bonus payment if and only if both tasks are successful. Yet, if the government has only a limited budget, it may be optimal to separate the tasks, so that there are two contractors each in charge of one task. In this case, high efforts in both tasks can be implemented with smaller bonus payments.

Suggested Citation

  • Schmitz, Patrick W., 2013. "Public procurement in times of crisis: The bundling decision reconsidered," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 121(3), pages 533-536.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecolet:v:121:y:2013:i:3:p:533-536
    DOI: 10.1016/j.econlet.2013.10.015
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    Cited by:

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    2. Bougheas, Spiros & Wang, Tianxi, 2021. "A theory of outside equity: Financing multiple projects," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    3. Jiancai Pi, 2018. "Another Look at Job Design with Conflicting Tasks," Australian Economic Papers, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 57(4), pages 427-434, December.
    4. Buso, Marco & Marty, Frederic & Tran, Phuong Tra, 2017. "Public-private partnerships from budget constraints: Looking for debt hiding?," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 56-84.
    5. Fay, Marianne & Martimort, David & Straub, Stéphane, 2021. "Funding and financing infrastructure: The joint-use of public and private finance," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 150(C).
    6. Yeon-Koo Che & Elisabetta Iossa & Patrick Rey, 2021. "Prizes versus Contracts as Incentives for Innovation [Subgame Perfect Implementation Under Information Perturbations]," Review of Economic Studies, Oxford University Press, vol. 88(5), pages 2149-2178.
    7. Malin Arve & David Martimort, 2016. "Dynamic Procurement under Uncertainty: Optimal Design and Implications for Incomplete Contracts," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 106(11), pages 3238-3274, November.
    8. Dahai Li & Huan Wang & Yang Li, 2023. "Incentive Mechanisms for Thermal Power Generation Enterprises with Conflicting Tasks: Electricity Production versus Carbon Emission Reduction," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-22, July.
    9. Schmitz, Patrick W., 2023. "Incentivizing research with (un)conditional teaching duties: Punishment or rent extraction?," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 224(C).
    10. Jiancai Pi, 2021. "An investigation of seeming favoritism in public procurement," Manchester School, University of Manchester, vol. 89(1), pages 128-137, January.
    11. Buso, Marco & Moretto, Michele & Zormpas, Dimitrios, 2021. "Excess returns in Public-Private Partnerships: Do governments pay too much?," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 102(C).
    12. Pi, Jiancai, 2014. "Job design with sequential tasks and outcome externalities revisited," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 125(2), pages 274-277.
    13. Marco Buso & Luciano Greco, 2021. "The Optimality of Public-Private Partnerships under Financial and Fiscal Constraints," "Marco Fanno" Working Papers 0276, Dipartimento di Scienze Economiche "Marco Fanno".

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Moral hazard; Limited liability; Procurement contracts; Bundling; Public goods provision;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D86 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Economics of Contract Law
    • L24 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Contracting Out; Joint Ventures
    • L33 - Industrial Organization - - Nonprofit Organizations and Public Enterprise - - - Comparison of Public and Private Enterprise and Nonprofit Institutions; Privatization; Contracting Out
    • H57 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Procurement
    • H12 - Public Economics - - Structure and Scope of Government - - - Crisis Management

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