Estimation of procurement costs incurred by public customers: a case study of a Russian region

Journal of Public Procurement. 2018. Vol. 18. No. 1. P. 68–87.

Yakovlev A. A., Olga Balaeva, Tkachenko A.

Public procurement procedures prescribed by legislation not only enhance transparency and competition but also entail certain transaction costs for both customers and suppliers. These costs are important to the efficiency of the procurement system. However, very few previous studies have focused on estimating procurement costs. This paper proposes a methodology for public procurement cost evaluation. We show how procurement costs can be calculated using a formalized survey of public customers. This methodology was tested with a representative group of public customers operating in one region of the Russian Federation. We formulate the policy implications of our study as they relate to the improvement of public procurement regulations and argue that this methodological approach can be applied in other developing and transitioning economies.

Keywords: государственные закупки, эффективность, regulation, effectiveness, издержки госзакупок, госзаказчик, public procurement, public customer, procurement costs, регулирование госзакупок

Publication based on the results of: Issues and incentives for efficient public procurement and innovations (2017)