An economic analysis of Ireland's first public private partnership

Abstract

In 1999, the Irish Government launched a programme of public private partnerships (PPPs). The programme has expanded rapidly as policy makers seek to address the country's acute deficit of physical infrastructure. The first PPP to reach the stage of operation is the contract for five secondary schools. The early evidence from this case demonstrates that the market for education projects is competitive. The contract was designed on the basis of securing an appropriate distribution of risk and limiting private sector rents from re‐financing. However, the evidence indicates that this PPP has not resulted in significant innovations and the public sector has failed to provide any evidence of value for money.