The Impact of Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) in Infrastructure, Health and Education: A Review

Résumé

This paper summarizes what is known about the impact of public-private partnerships (PPPs) in the three sectors where they have been used intensively: infrastructure (energy, transport, water and sanitation, and telecommunications), education, and health. It lays out the main elements of economic theory relevant to analyzing the trade-off between PPPs and the public provision of complex projects. It places PPPs within a historical perspective. It reviews empirical evaluations of the effectiveness of PPPs and, whenever possible, the implications for social outcomes. Finally, it draws conclusions on cross-cutting issues that influence the efficiency of PPPs, from contract design and regulation to renegotiations and institutional issues. The paper straightens out and qualifies the record of existing evidence and signals some of the main areas and topics for future fruitful research.

Mots-clés

Public private partnership; evaluation; infrastructure; education; health;

Codes JEL

H54: Infrastructures • Other Public Investment and Capital Stock
I11: Analysis of Health Care Markets
I21: Analysis of Education
L33: Comparison of Public and Private Enterprises and Nonprofit Institutions • Privatization • Contracting Out