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Private opportunity, public benefit?

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  • John Hall

    (Institute for Fiscal Studies)

Abstract

The newly elected Labour government has pledged to ‘reinvigorate the Private Finance Initiative’, as part of the new emphasis on ‘public/private partnerships’ in the delivery of core public services. This article assesses the merits of using private finance to deliver public services against three criteria: whether it will lead to additional investment in social infrastructure, whether it represents good value for the taxpayer’s money and whether the use of private finance will reduce the public sector’s flexibility to pursue its public service objectives.

Suggested Citation

  • John Hall, 1998. "Private opportunity, public benefit?," Fiscal Studies, Institute for Fiscal Studies, vol. 19(2), pages 121-140, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:ifs:fistud:v:19:y:1998:i:2:p:121-140
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    File URL: http://www.ifs.org.uk/fs/articles/hall_may98.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Roehrich, Jens K. & Lewis, Michael A. & George, Gerard, 2014. "Are public–private partnerships a healthy option? A systematic literature review," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 113(C), pages 110-119.
    2. Rob Ball & Maryanne Heafey & David King, 2002. "The Private Finance Initiative and Public Sector Finance," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 20(1), pages 57-74, February.
    3. Eduardo Engel & Ronald Fischer & Alexander Galetovic, 2014. "Finance and Public-Private Partnerships," RBA Annual Conference Volume (Discontinued), in: Alexandra Heath & Matthew Read (ed.),Financial Flows and Infrastructure Financing, Reserve Bank of Australia.
    4. Eduardo Engel & Ronald D. Fischer & Alexander Galetovic, 2020. "When and How to Use Public-Private Partnerships in Infrastructure: Lessons from the International Experience," NBER Chapters, in: Economic Analysis and Infrastructure Investment, pages 333-364, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Paul du Gay & Yuval Millo & Penelope Tuck, 2012. "Making Government Liquid: Shifts in Governance Using Financialisation as a Political Device," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 30(6), pages 1083-1099, December.
    6. Ranjith Appuhami & Sujatha Perera & Hector Perera, 2011. "Management Controls in Public–Private Partnerships: An Analytical Framework," Australian Accounting Review, CPA Australia, vol. 21(1), pages 64-79, March.
    7. Tahir Nisar, 2007. "Risk Management in Public–Private Partnership Contracts," Public Organization Review, Springer, vol. 7(1), pages 1-19, March.
    8. Chung, Demi & Hensher, David A. & Rose, John M., 2010. "Toward the betterment of risk allocation: Investigating risk perceptions of Australian stakeholder groups to public-private-partnership tollroad projects," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 30(1), pages 43-58.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • H54 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Infrastructures
    • H11 - Public Economics - - Structure and Scope of Government - - - Structure and Scope of Government

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