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Disadvantaged business enterprise goals in government procurement contracting: An analysis of bidding behavior and costs

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  • De Silva, Dakshina G.
  • Dunne, Timothy
  • Kosmopoulou, Georgia
  • Lamarche, Carlos

Abstract

Programs that encourage the participation of disadvantaged business enterprises (DBE) as subcontractors have been a part of government procurement auctions for over three decades. In this paper, we examine the impact of a program that requires prime contractors to subcontract out a portion of a highway procurement project to DBE firms. We study how DBE subcontracting requirements affect bidding behavior in federally funded projects. Within a symmetric independent private value framework, we use the equilibrium bidding function to obtain the cost distribution of firms undertaking projects either with or without subcontracting goals. We then use nonparametric estimation methods to uncover and compare the cost of firm bidding on a class of asphalt projects related to surface treatment in Texas. The analysis shows little differences in the cost structure between projects that have subcontracting goals and those that do not.

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  • De Silva, Dakshina G. & Dunne, Timothy & Kosmopoulou, Georgia & Lamarche, Carlos, 2012. "Disadvantaged business enterprise goals in government procurement contracting: An analysis of bidding behavior and costs," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 30(4), pages 377-388.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:indorg:v:30:y:2012:i:4:p:377-388
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ijindorg.2011.12.003
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    Cited by:

    1. Hojin Jung & Georgia Kosmopoulou & Robert Press & Richard Sicotte, 2022. "Subcontracting and the incidence of change orders in procurement contracts," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 60(1), pages 247-264, January.
    2. De Silva, Dakshina G. & Hubbard, Timothy P. & Kosmopoulou, Georgia, 2013. "Efficacy of a Bidder Training Program: Lessons from LINC," MPRA Paper 51329, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    3. Luigi Moretti & Paola Valbonesi, 2012. "Subcontracting in Public Procurement: An Empirical Investigation," "Marco Fanno" Working Papers 0154, Dipartimento di Scienze Economiche "Marco Fanno".
    4. Deltas, George & Evenett, Simon, 2020. "Language as a barrier to entry: Foreign competition in Georgian public procurement," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    5. Strömbäck, Elon, 2015. "Policy by Public Procurement: Opportunities and Pitfalls," Umeå Economic Studies 915, Umeå University, Department of Economics.
    6. Rosa, Benjamin V., 2020. "Affirmative action subcontracting regulations in dynamic procurement auctions," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    7. Rosa, Benjamin, 2022. "Diversity versus Equity in Government Contracting," MPRA Paper 114765, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. De Silva, Dakshina G. & Kosmopoulou, Georgia & Lamarche, Carlos, 2017. "Subcontracting and the survival of plants in the road construction industry: A panel quantile regression analysis," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 137(C), pages 113-131.
    9. De Silva, Dakshina G. & Hubbard, Timothy P. & Kosmopoulou, Georgia, 2020. "An evaluation of a bidder training program," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    10. Georgia Kosmopoulou & Xueqi Zhou, 2014. "Price Adjustment Policies in Procurement Contracting: An Analysis of Bidding Behavior," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 62(1), pages 77-112, March.
    11. Laura Rondi & Paola Valbonesi, 2017. "Pre- and post-award outsourcing: Temporary partnership versus subcontracting in public procurement," "Marco Fanno" Working Papers 0211, Dipartimento di Scienze Economiche "Marco Fanno".
    12. Rosa, Benjamin, 2016. "Subcontracting Requirements and the Cost of Government Procurement," MPRA Paper 77392, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    13. Lei He & Georgia Kosmopoulou, 2021. "Subcontracting Network Formation Among U.S. Airline Carriers," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 69(4), pages 817-853, December.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Government procurement; Auctions; Bidding; Affirmative action; Minority businesses;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H4 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods
    • H57 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Procurement
    • D44 - Microeconomics - - Market Structure, Pricing, and Design - - - Auctions

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