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Public-Private Partnerships, Asymmetric Information, and Incomplete Contracts

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  • Schmitz, Patrick W.

Abstract

We develop an incomplete-contracting model in which the government engages a private contractor to provide a public good. Over time, adaptations of the good to changing circumstances may become desirable. The contractor privately learns the costs of implementing these adaptations. We compare two organizational forms. In a public-private partnership, the government actively participates in project management and, by incurring information-gathering costs, may ascertain the contractor's adaptation costs. Under traditional procurement, the government lacks direct involvement in project management, preventing it from ascertaining the adaptation costs. We show that the government's potentially enhanced access to the contractor's information in a public-private partnership can either support or undermine the case for such partnerships.

Suggested Citation

  • Schmitz, Patrick W., 2025. "Public-Private Partnerships, Asymmetric Information, and Incomplete Contracts," MPRA Paper 126368, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:126368
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Hoppe, Eva I. & Kusterer, David J. & Schmitz, Patrick W., 2013. "Public–private partnerships versus traditional procurement: An experimental investigation," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 145-166.
    2. Buso, Marco & Marty, Frederic & Tran, Phuong Tra, 2017. "Public-private partnerships from budget constraints: Looking for debt hiding?," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 56-84.
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    5. David Martimort & Flavio Menezes & Myrna Wooders & ELISABETTA IOSSA & DAVID MARTIMORT, 2015. "The Simple Microeconomics of Public-Private Partnerships," Journal of Public Economic Theory, Association for Public Economic Theory, vol. 17(1), pages 4-48, February.
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    8. Ms. Manal Fouad & Isabel Rial & Ozlem Aydin, 2021. "Mastering the Risky Business of Public-Private Partnerships in Infrastructure," IMF Departmental Papers / Policy Papers 2021/010, International Monetary Fund.
    9. Oliver Hart, 2003. "Incomplete Contracts and Public Ownership: Remarks, and an Application to Public-Private Partnerships," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 113(486), pages 69-76, March.
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    11. Eva I. Hoppe & Patrick W. Schmitz, 2013. "Public-private partnerships versus traditional procurement: Innovation incentives and information gathering," RAND Journal of Economics, RAND Corporation, vol. 44(1), pages 56-74, March.
    12. Oliver Hart & John Moore, 2008. "Contracts as Reference Points," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 123(1), pages 1-48.
    13. Eva I. Hoppe & Patrick W. Schmitz, 2021. "How (Not) to Foster Innovations in Public Infrastructure Projects," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 123(1), pages 238-266, January.
    14. Arielle D’Souza & Kendall Hoyt & Christopher M. Snyder & Alec Stapp, 2025. "Can Operation Warp Speed Serve as a Model for Accelerating Innovations beyond COVID Vaccines?," Entrepreneurship and Innovation Policy and the Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 4(1), pages 103-138.
    15. Hoppe, Eva I. & Schmitz, Patrick W., 2010. "Public versus private ownership: Quantity contracts and the allocation of investment tasks," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 94(3-4), pages 258-268, April.
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    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • D23 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Organizational Behavior; Transaction Costs; Property Rights
    • D86 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Economics of Contract Law
    • H41 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods - - - Public Goods
    • H57 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Procurement
    • L33 - Industrial Organization - - Nonprofit Organizations and Public Enterprise - - - Comparison of Public and Private Enterprise and Nonprofit Institutions; Privatization; Contracting Out

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