Flexible Strategies for Centralized Public Procurement

Review of Economics and Institutions, Vol. 1, No. 2, Fall 2010

32 Pages Posted: 19 Jul 2011

See all articles by Gian Luigi Albano

Gian Luigi Albano

Consip S.p.A. - The National Central Purchasing Body; LUISS "G. Carli", Department of Economics and Finance

Marco Sparro

Consip SPA

Date Written: August 10, 2010

Abstract

When designing a national public procurement system, the degree of centralization (or, equivalently, the degree of demand aggregation) is one of the most crucial as well as puzzling policy choices.

Centralized procurement has been traditionally considered as an instrument to reduce public spending. In more recent years, though, and particularly after the 2008 global financial turmoil, a growing interest has arisen among both policy makers and researchers in government procurement as a lever to pursue broader policy goals, such as competitive markets structure, sustainable development and innovation.

This paper reviews and discusses several issues related both to the rationales and to the practical implementation of centralized procurement strategies, with a particular focus on the procurement of goods and services.

Keywords: public procurement, competition, centralization, framework agreements

JEL Classification: H57, K12, L50, O38

Suggested Citation

Albano, Gian Luigi and Sparro, Marco, Flexible Strategies for Centralized Public Procurement (August 10, 2010). Review of Economics and Institutions, Vol. 1, No. 2, Fall 2010, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1887791

Gian Luigi Albano (Contact Author)

Consip S.p.A. - The National Central Purchasing Body ( email )

Via Isonzo, 19/E
Rome, 00198
Italy
+39 06 85449.627 (Phone)

LUISS "G. Carli", Department of Economics and Finance ( email )

Via O. Tommasini 1
Rome, Roma 00100
Italy

Marco Sparro

Consip SPA ( email )

Direzione Acquisti in Rete della Pubblica Amminist
Via Isonzo, 19/E
00198 Roma
Italy

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