Public-Private Partnerships : Promise and Hype

Klein, Michael

World Bank, Washington, DC

关键词: SANITATION;    FOR‐PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS;    ROAD DEVELOPMENT;    CAPITAL MARKETS;    EVASION;   

DOI  :  10.1596/1813-9450-7340
RP-ID  :  WPS7340

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

This paper provides perspectives onpatterns of public-private partnerships in infrastructureacross time and space. Public-private partnerships are a newterm for old concepts. Much infrastructure started underprivate auspices.Then many governments nationalized theventures. Governments often push infrastructure providers tokeep prices low. In emerging markets, the price of watercovers maybe 30 percent of costs on average, that ofelectricity some 80 percent of costs. This renders publicinfrastructure ventures dependent on subsidies. Whengovernments run into fiscal troubles, they often look againfor public-private partnerships, and price increases. As aresult, public-private partnerships keep making a comebackin most countries, but are not always loved. Waves ofinterest in public-private partnerships sweep differentcountries at different times. Overall, in emerging marketstoday, public-private partnerships account for some 20percent of infrastructure investments, with wide variationsacross countries and from year to year. There is no “killer”rationale for public-private partnerships. They can helpraise financing when governments face borrowing constraints.They can be more efficient when sound incentives areapplied. Existing evaluations suggest public-privatepartnerships tend to perform often a bit better than publicprovision. Yet, well-run governments can do as well.Public-private partnerships provide mechanisms to improvethe governance of infrastructure ventures where governmentsare flawed. Once the fiscal troubles are over, the politicsof pricing assert themselves again. Tight pricing erodes theprofitability of public-private partnerships and the wheelof privatization and nationalization keeps turning, as ithas since modern infrastructure services were invented.