Doing It by the Book: Political Contestability and Public Contract Renegotiations
本文构建了一个公共采购模型，研究合同灵活性和政治竞争性如何影响重新谈判，发现公共合同比私人合同更易重新谈判，且在政治竞争激烈的地区更明显。
Abstract We present a public procurement model in which contractual flexibility and political tolerance for contractual deviations determine renegotiations. In the model, contractual flexibility allows for adaptation without formal renegotiation, while political tolerance for deviations decreases with political competition. We then compare renegotiation rates of procurement contracts in which the procurer is either a public administration or a private corporation. We find robust evidence consistent with the model predictions: public-to-private contracts are renegotiated more often than comparable private-to-private contracts, and that this pattern is more salient in politically contestable jurisdictions. The frequent renegotiation of public contracts results from their inherent rigidity and provides a relational quality of adaptability to contingencies in politically contestable environments..