scholarly journals Political contestability and public contract rigidity: An analysis of procurement contracts

2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 316-335 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean Beuve ◽  
Marian W. Moszoro ◽  
Stéphane Saussier
Keyword(s):  
Procurement Contracts ◽  
Public Contract

scholarly journals Transforming Public Procurement Contracts Into Smart Contracts

2021 ◽  
pp. 1380-1394
Author(s):  
Pauline Debono
Keyword(s):  
Public Administration ◽  
Public Procurement ◽  
Smart Contracts ◽  
Procurement Process ◽  
The Public ◽  
Smart Contract ◽  
Procurement Contracts ◽  
Public Contract

The terms governing the provision of supplies, services, or works by an economic operator to a governmental entity are set into a public contract that is signed, following a procurement process. This article explores whether the public administration can utilise smart contracts to incorporate the terms governing the provision of supplies, services, or works. The fundamental elements of a contract are assessed, in order to determine whether a smart contract can be considered as fulfilling these requirements. Following this assessment, the main hurdles to the use of smart contracting are examined and a possible solution proposed. The case for utilising smart contracting within the realm of public procurement is finally advocated.

scholarly journals Transforming Public Procurement Contracts Into Smart Contracts

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 16-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pauline Debono
Keyword(s):  
Public Administration ◽  
Public Procurement ◽  
Smart Contracts ◽  
Procurement Process ◽  
The Public ◽  
Smart Contract ◽  
Procurement Contracts ◽  
Public Contract

The terms governing the provision of supplies, services, or works by an economic operator to a governmental entity are set into a public contract that is signed, following a procurement process. This article explores whether the public administration can utilise smart contracts to incorporate the terms governing the provision of supplies, services, or works. The fundamental elements of a contract are assessed, in order to determine whether a smart contract can be considered as fulfilling these requirements. Following this assessment, the main hurdles to the use of smart contracting are examined and a possible solution proposed. The case for utilising smart contracting within the realm of public procurement is finally advocated.

scholarly journals Corruption: Profile of political companies in Romania

2015 ◽  
Vol 65 (s1) ◽  
pp. 65-82 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniela Pirvu
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Public Procurement ◽  
European Level ◽  
Theoretical Level ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Procurement Contracts ◽  
Public Contract

The subject of the paper is related to the tainting of the public contract award process and the consequences generated by it: corruption in public procurement, which is a major problem of the Romanian economy, recognised and pointed out both at the national and at the European level. The study provides empirical evidence that between 2009–2013 there were many companies that repeatedly win public procurement contracts and do business only (or almost only) with the local and central authorities (contracting authorities who represent the interests of political parties). At the theoretical level, the profile of these companies, called political companies, is identified.

scholarly journals Does the Lowest Bid Price Evaluation Criterion Make for a More Efficient Public Procurement Selection Criterion? (Case of the Czech Republic)

2015 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-59 ◽  
Author(s):  
František Ochrana ◽  
Kristýna Hrnčířová
Keyword(s):  
Czech Republic ◽  
Public Procurement ◽  
Selection Criterion ◽  
Radical Change ◽  
Evaluation Criterion ◽  
The Czech Republic ◽  
Service Contracts ◽  
Bid Price ◽  
Public Contracts ◽  
Public Contract

Abstract Through the institute of public procurement a considerable volume of financial resources is allocated. It is therefore in the interest of contracting entities to seek ways of how to achieve an efficient allocation of resources. Some public contract-awarding entities, along with some public-administration authorities in the Czech Republic, believe that the use of a single evaluation criterion (the lowest bid price) results in a more efficient tender for a public contract. It was found that contracting entities in the Czech Republic strongly prefer to use the lowest bid price criterion. Within the examined sample, 86.5 % of public procurements were evaluated this way. The analysis of the examined sample of public contracts proved that the choice of an evaluation criterion, even the preference of the lowest bid price criterion, does not have any obvious impact on the final cost of a public contract. The study concludes that it is inappropriate to prefer the criterion of the lowest bid price within the evaluation of public contracts that are characterised by their complexity (including public contracts for construction works and public service contracts). The findings of the Supreme Audit Office related to the inspection of public contracts indicate that when using the lowest bid price as an evaluation criterion, a public contract may indeed be tendered with the lowest bid price, but not necessarily the best offer in terms of supplied quality. It is therefore not appropriate to use the lowest bid price evaluation criterion to such an extent for the purpose of evaluating work and services. Any improvement to this situation requires a corresponding amendment to the Law on Public Contracts and mainly a radical change in the attitude of the Office for the Protection of Competition towards proposed changes, as indicated within the conclusions and recommendations proposed by this study.

Examining year-end spending spikes in the European Economic Area: a comparative study of procurement contracts

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Clifford P. McCue ◽  
Eric Prier ◽  
Ryan J. Lofaro
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Study ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Public Procurement ◽  
Fourth Quarter ◽  
European Economic Area ◽  
Content Type ◽  
European Economic ◽  
Economic Area ◽  
Contract Type ◽  
Procurement Contracts

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to analyze year-end spending practices in the European Economic Area (EEA) to baseline the pervasiveness of year-end spending spikes across countries in Europe.Design/methodology/approachThe Tenders Electronic Daily dataset is used to descriptively analyze above-threshold procurement contracts by country, year and contract type from 2009 to 2018. Proportional distributions are employed to compare percentages of spend across quarters. Analyses are run within each country on the number of years displaying a fourth quarter spike, as well as within each country and contract type.FindingsThe results show that while spending spikes for above-threshold contracts in the final fiscal quarter are not consistent across all countries, patterns emerge when the data are disaggregated by country. The most populous nations in the EEA are more likely to have years with the highest proportion of fiscal spend occurring in the fourth quarter. Further, the type of contract makes a difference – services and supplies contracts are more likely to display fourth quarter spikes than works contracts.Originality/valueThis article provides the first analysis of the year-end spending spike across countries in Europe using procurement data, as well as the first to disaggregate by year and contract type. Findings support the literature on the presence of year-end spikes; such spikes exist even for above-threshold public procurement contracts.

On Re-invigorating the Australia-China Free Trade Agreement Negotiation Process

2013 ◽  
pp. 672-696 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ling Ling He
Keyword(s):  
Free Trade ◽  
Free Trade Agreement ◽  
Trade Agreement ◽  
Negotiation Process ◽  
Government Procurement ◽  
Procurement Contracts ◽  
The Way

Driven by both economic and geopolitical imperatives, negotiation of the Australia-China Free Trade Agreement (ACFTA) has been slow and difficult. The negotiation process has reached an impasse since the latest round took place in March 2012. Major reasons for this include difficulties encountered in negotiating on agriculture, services, investment, and government procurement contracts and surrounding populist resistance from both Australian and Chinese domestic constituencies. Following more than eight years of negotiations and establishment of closer trade related ties, there is a lot at stake for both countries in the outcome of these discussions. This paper examines these issues and of the way forward towards a workable negotiation process.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document