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Determinants of adaptation costs in procurement: an empirical estimation on Italian public works contracts

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  • C. Guccio
  • G. Pignataro
  • I. Rizzo

Abstract

It is widely agreed that rules governing public procurement should be designed to achieve value for money. However, in the public works sector, ‘… the good being procured is usually complex and hard to be exactly specified ex ante , … [and] alterations to the original project might be needed after the contract is awarded. This may result in considerable discrepancies between the lowest winning bid and the actual costs that are incurred by the buyer’ (Bajari et al ., 2006). There is now a wide body of literature focusing on cost escalation during the execution of contracts and their estimates reveal that it can be often quite large. This article is aimed at offering an empirical test of the determinants of adaptation costs in the public works procurement. Using a detailed data set on Italian public works contracts, we run an empirical analysis, grounded on the main conclusions reached in the literature, to test for the main drivers of adaptation costs.

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  • C. Guccio & G. Pignataro & I. Rizzo, 2012. "Determinants of adaptation costs in procurement: an empirical estimation on Italian public works contracts," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 44(15), pages 1891-1909, May.
  • Handle: RePEc:taf:applec:44:y:2012:i:15:p:1891-1909
    DOI: 10.1080/00036846.2011.556589
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    3. Bartlomiej Rokicki, 2022. "Cost Underruns in Major Road Transport Infrastructure Projects—The Surprising Experience of Poland," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(21), pages 1-18, November.
    4. Massimo Finocchiaro Castro & Calogero Guccio & Ilde Rizzo, 2014. "An assessment of the waste effects of corruption on infrastructure provision," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 21(4), pages 813-843, August.
    5. Cavalieri, Marina & Cristaudo, Rossana & Guccio, Calogero, 2019. "On the magnitude of cost overruns throughout the project life-cycle: An assessment for the Italian transport infrastructure projects," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 21-36.
    6. Giuseppe F Gori & Patrizia Lattarulo & Marco Mariani, 2017. "Understanding the procurement performance of local governments: A duration analysis of public works," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 35(5), pages 809-827, August.
    7. Cavalieri, Marina & Guccio, Calogero & Rizzo, Ilde, 2017. "On the role of environmental corruption in healthcare infrastructures: An empirical assessment for Italy using DEA with truncated regression approach," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 121(5), pages 515-524.
    8. Calogero Guccio & Ilde Rizzo, 2013. "Public spending for conservation in Italy," Chapters, in: Ilde Rizzo & Anna Mignosa (ed.), Handbook on the Economics of Cultural Heritage, chapter 27, pages i-i, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    9. Olga Chiappinelli, 2020. "Decentralization And Public Procurement Performance: New Evidence From Italy," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 58(2), pages 856-880, April.
    10. Ravenda, Diego & Giuranno, Michele G. & Valencia-Silva, Maika M. & Argiles-Bosch, Josep M. & García-Blandón, Josep, 2020. "The effects of mafia infiltration on public procurement performance," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    11. Calogero Guccio & Giacomo Pignataro & Ilde Rizzo, 2014. "Evaluating the efficiency of public procurement contracts for cultural heritage conservation works in Italy," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 38(1), pages 43-70, February.
    12. Massimo Finocchiaro Castro & Calogero Guccio & Giacomo Pignataro & Ilde Rizzo, 2018. "Is competition able to counteract the inefficiency of corruption? The case of Italian public works," Economia e Politica Industriale: Journal of Industrial and Business Economics, Springer;Associazione Amici di Economia e Politica Industriale, vol. 45(1), pages 55-84, March.
    13. Lisciandra, Maurizio & Milani, Riccardo & Millemaci, Emanuele, 2022. "A corruption risk indicator for public procurement," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    14. Guccio, Calogero & Pignataro, Giacomo & Rizzo, Ilde, 2014. "Do local governments do it better? Analysis of time performance in the execution of public works," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 237-252.
    15. 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".
    16. Roberto Moro Visconti, 2014. "Multidimensional principal-agent value for money in healthcare project financing," Public Money & Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 34(4), pages 259-264, July.
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