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Public procurement demand, heterogenous authorities, and productivity outcomes

Lookup NU author(s): Dr Salvatore Di NovoORCiD

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Abstract

This paper provides evidence on the relationship between productivity differentials and the size ofpublic procurement demand across sectors alongside documenting differences among contracting authorities when it comes to award more productive firms or not. To this purpose, I match informationon public procurement contracts with firm-level measures of total factor productivity for Italy, overthe period 2009-2014. Still, heterogeneity across contracting authorities is investigated over procurement contracting categories. It turns out that a sector’s total factor productivity (Tfp) is negativelyassociated with the degree of dependence on public procurement demand, though heterogeneity acrosscontracting authorities can alter this relationship. Utility firms are generally found to be the moreprone in selecting high productive firms, although this is mainly related to the procurement of services.The resulting evidence suggests the still-standing importance of enhancing policies oriented to improvethe effectiveness of operations in public administrations, although they should be specifically targetedto certain types of administrations.

Publication metadata

Author(s): Di Novo S

Publication type: Article

Publication status: Unpublished

Journal:

Year: 2020

Date deposited: 21/04/2023

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