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Public-private partnership for the provision of public goods : theory and an application to NGOs

Author

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  • Besley, Timothy
  • Ghatak, Maitreesh
Abstract
This paper analyzes the role of public and private responsibility in the provision of public goods. We emphasize that a typical public good will require many different inputs which raises the possibility of partnerships to exploit comparative advantages of different parties. But hold-up problems due to contractual incompleteness in specifying tasks discourage separation of ownership and management. We extend our analysis to examine the role of project design or “ideology” as a separate non-contractible input, and the possibility of crowding out in the form of a less caring government being elected because of the presence of private providers. The main application developed here is to NGOs in developing countries which, in the last two decades, have been increasingly involved in various capacities in the provision of a wide range of public goods and services.

Suggested Citation

  • Besley, Timothy & Ghatak, Maitreesh, 1999. "Public-private partnership for the provision of public goods : theory and an application to NGOs," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 2162, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    • Handle: RePEc:ehl:lserod:2162
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Michael Regan, 2013. "Public project procurement and the case for public–private partnerships," Chapters, in: John Farrar & David G. Mayes (ed.), Globalisation, the Global Financial Crisis and the State, chapter 8, pages 172-196, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    2. Eswaran, Mukesh, 2018. "Can For-Profit Business Alleviate Extreme Poverty in Developing Countries?," Microeconomics.ca working papers tina_marandola-2018-6, Vancouver School of Economics, revised 06 Jun 2018.
    3. Besley, Timothy & Ghatak, Maitreesh, 2017. "Public–private partnerships for the provision of public goods: Theory and an application to NGOs," Research in Economics, Elsevier, vol. 71(2), pages 356-371.
    4. Jack, William, 2000. "Decentralizing the provision of health services : an incomplete contracts approach," Policy Research Working Paper Series 2395, The World Bank.
    5. Krautheim, Sebastian & Verdier, Thierry, 2016. "Offshoring with endogenous NGO activism," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 22-41.
    6. Danny Freira, 2018. "Diseno organizativo para el desarrollo económico y social: el caso del Programa de Microcrédito Rural," Revista Equidad y Desarrollo, Universidad de la Salle, issue 31, pages 173-192, June.
    7. Lea Cassar, 2014. "Optimal contracting with endogenous project mission," ECON - Working Papers 150, Department of Economics - University of Zurich, revised Oct 2014.
    8. Aeshna Badruzzaman, 2023. "Repositioning urban bias: Non‐state providers' use of spatialised networks in Bangladesh," Public Administration & Development, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 43(1), pages 49-59, February.
    9. Roy, Jaideep & Chowdhury, Prabal Roy, 2009. "Public-private partnerships in micro-finance: Should NGO involvement be restricted?," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 90(2), pages 200-208, November.
    10. Lea Cassar, 2014. "Job mission as a substitute for monetary incentives: experimental evidence," ECON - Working Papers 177, Department of Economics - University of Zurich.
    11. Abigail Barr & Marcel Fafchamps & Trudy Owens, 2004. "The Resources and Governance of Non-Governmental Organizations in Uganda," Development and Comp Systems 0409047, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    12. Brishti Guha & Prabal Roy Chowdhury, 2012. "Borrower Targeting under Micro-finance Competition with Motivated MFIs," Working Papers 05-2012, Singapore Management University, School of Economics.
    13. Nthambi, Mary & Markova-Nenova, Nonka & Wätzold, Frank, 2021. "Quantifying Loss of Benefits from Poor Governance of Climate Change Adaptation Projects: A Discrete Choice Experiment with Farmers in Kenya," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 179(C).
    14. Nthambi, Mary & Wätzold, Frank & Markova-Nenova, Nonka, 2018. "Quantifying benefit losses from poor governance of climate change adaptation projects: A discrete choice experiment with farmers in Kenya," MPRA Paper 94678, University Library of Munich, Germany.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Public Goods; non-governmental organizations; incomplete contracting; partnerships.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O12 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development
    • L3 - Industrial Organization - - Nonprofit Organizations and Public Enterprise
    • D23 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Organizational Behavior; Transaction Costs; Property Rights
    • H4 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods

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