This paper, written in German language, deals with public procurement policies in the European Union in an overall economic context. Public sector contracts for goods and services make up about one sixth of Community GDP. Governments of all levels tend to rely on local firms when extenting delivery contracts. This may be in conflict with the rules of the EU internal market which, for larger contracts, request competition among bidders. The current essay discusses the possible tensions between competition in the market and the regulation of public procurement. Public contracts have been used to implement additional policy goals, such as social and environmental aspects or to aid small business. The latter goal is often blurred by the tendency to centralise procurement in order to increase the market power of public demand. In general, such a mix of goals may reduce the efficiency of procurement policy.
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Paper provided by EconWPA in its series Public Economics with number
0507012.
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