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Corruption and Renegotiation in Procurement

Author

Listed:
  • Leandro Arozamena
  • Juan-José Ganuza
  • Federico Weinschelbaum

Abstract

A sponsor –e.g. a government agency– uses a procurement auction to select a supplier who will be in charge of the execution of a contract. That contract is incomplete: it may be renegotiated once the auction's winner has been chosen. We examine a setting where one firm may bribe the agent in charge of monitoring contract execution so that the former is treated preferentially if renegotiation actually occurs. If a bribe is accepted, the corrupt firm will be more aggressive at the initial auction and thus win with a larger probability. We show that the equilibrium probability of corruption is larger when the initial contract is less complete, when the corrupt firm's cost is more likely to be similar to her rivals', and when it faces fewer competitors.

Suggested Citation

  • Leandro Arozamena & Juan-José Ganuza & Federico Weinschelbaum, 2025. "Corruption and Renegotiation in Procurement," Working Papers 1492, Barcelona School of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:bge:wpaper:1492
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. McAfee, R. Preston & McMillan, John, 1989. "Government procurement and international trade," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 26(3-4), pages 291-308, May.
    2. Lengwiler, Yvan & Wolfstetter, Elmar G., 2006. "Corruption in Procurement Auctions," Discussion Paper Series of SFB/TR 15 Governance and the Efficiency of Economic Systems 90, Free University of Berlin, Humboldt University of Berlin, University of Bonn, University of Mannheim, University of Munich.
    3. Erica Bosio & Simeon Djankov & Edward Glaeser & Andrei Shleifer, 2022. "Public Procurement in Law and Practice," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 112(4), pages 1091-1117, April.
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    5. Nicolás Campos & Eduardo Engel & Ronald D. Fischer & Alexander Galetovic, 2021. "The Ways of Corruption in Infrastructure: Lessons from the Odebrecht Case," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 35(2), pages 171-190, Spring.
    6. Patrick Bajari & Stephanie Houghton & Steven Tadelis, 2014. "Bidding for Incomplete Contracts: An Empirical Analysis of Adaptation Costs," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 104(4), pages 1288-1319, April.
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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • C72 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Game Theory and Bargaining Theory - - - Noncooperative Games
    • D44 - Microeconomics - - Market Structure, Pricing, and Design - - - Auctions
    • D82 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Asymmetric and Private Information; Mechanism Design

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