Public Procurement The Continuing Revolution

From modest beginnings in the early 1990's, a reform movement in the regulation of public procurement has mushroomed into a global imperative. Two fundamental values of international free trade policy value for money and the deterrence of corruption have brought intense scrutiny to bear on public procurement practices in nearly every country. Now international standards (notably those of the WTO and the EU) must be met if a trading nation is to take its place in the global markets. This collection of essays offers fifteen distinct views on the current status and trends in public procurement and its various aspects. From general discussion of setup, overcoming obstacles, ensuring transparency, and compliance with international rules to specific issues raised in economies as diverse as Kosovo, China, and the United States, Public Procurement: The Continuing Revolution provides a great wealth of insight and information. Although the emphasis throughout is on legal issues, the contributors include not only lawyers but also economists and specialists in purchasing practice. In addition, this is the first book to note the relatively recent trend, in developed countries, toward a less prescriptive, more flexible approach to regulation in which a degree of transparency is sacrificed. The question of how this trend will affect international procurement regimes is perhaps the most vital and interesting aspect of current theory and practice in the field. Most of these essays were originally presented as papers at an international conference hosted by the Public Procurement Research Group at the University of Nottingham in September 2001.

Regulation, . the challenge of widening participation in global & regional agreements & of making these agreements work, . regulating defence procurement, & . the use of procurement to promote social & environmental policies. Public Procurement: Global Revolution brings together the leading experts from academia, practice, & international institutions to describe the major global developments that have occurred in public procurement regulation & to examine some key current policy issues. The dynamic nature of the topic & the quality of coverage make this a useful, interesting resource for academics in the fields of international law & economics as well as practitioners & officials involved in international trade.

Since the 1990s, government at all levels is under increasing pressure to do more with less. However, despite the U.S. government spending about 15 to 20 percent of its GDP on contracts for goods and services, there is a paucity of reference books for public procurement officials and very few textbooks for courses on the subject. Filling this void, the International Handbook of Public Procurement provides the knowledge necessary to understand how procurement works and how to improve the cost-effectiveness of procurement systems. Taking a multidisciplinary approach, the book focuses on the managerial, economic, political, and legal aspects of this topic. It begins with a conceptual framework and highlights various reforms occurring in certain countries. By examining these improvements, readers are able to apply this knowledge to their own strategies. The next section presents selected cases that illustrate the public procurement process, examining systems in various nations including Germany, China, South Africa, Cambodia, Uganda, and Estonia. The book also discusses the rise of electronic procurement systems (E-procurement) and reviews the benefits of these efficient systems. Other topics presented in this comprehensive volume include practical discussions on contract negotiations, bidding, price strategies and cost analysis, and an insightful chapter on the market’s response to contract award announcements. A virtual encyclopedia from numerous international experts, this book was assembled by Khi V. Thai, Professor at Florida Atlantic University and Editor of the Journal of Public Procurement. Dr. Thai has provided technical assistance in the area of public procurement to governments across the world. Empowering those on all sides of the issue, this volume dispenses advice valuable to government officials and contractors, as well as providing a comprehensive text for public administration students.

The ninth book in the IBM Endowment Series on the Business of Government, The Procurement Revolution continues the tradition of timely and vital information dissemination, which the series has come to stand for. Focusing on the profound and revolutionary changes the government has had and will have to make in its approach to procuring goods and services, this book strives to capture the creativity and energy that can and should be brought to government procurement.

The decision not to launch negotiations in the World Trade Organization (WTO) on three of the Singapore Issues in the so-called July 2004 package provides an opportunity to revisit the knowledge base on which proposals for further international collective action may be drawn. This paper examines the available evidence on public procurement practices in developing countries that could be relevant to further multilateral rule making on state purchasing. Although there is considerable agreement on ends (efficient, non-corrupt, and transparent public purchasing systems), little information is available on means and, in particular, on the effective and replicable strategies that developing countries can adopt to improve their public procurement systems. A concerted effort to substantially add to the knowledge base on public procurement reforms in developing countries, through targeted research and international exchange of information on implemented procurement policies and outcomes, is critical to identifying areas where further binding multilateral disciplines may be beneficial.

This book investigates patterns of fragmentation and coherence in the international regulatory architecture of public procurement. In the context of the major international instruments of procurement regulation, the book studies the achievement of social and labour policies, the most controversial and problematic instrumental uses of public procurement practices. This work offers an innovative comparative approach, discussing the ways in which the different international instruments-namely the EU Procurement Directives, the WTO Agreement on Government Procurement, the UNCITRAL Model Law and the World Bank's Procurement Framework-are able to implement labour and social purposes and, at the same time, ensure a regulatory balance with the principles of efficiency and non-discrimination. Scholarly, rigorous and timely, this will be important reading for international trade lawyers and procurement practitioners.