When Public–Private Partnerships Fail

Author: Chen Cheng   Hubbard Michael   Liao Chun-Sung  

Publisher: Routledge Ltd

ISSN: 1471-9045

Source: Public Management Review, Vol.15, Iss.6, 2013-09, pp. : 839-857

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Abstract

This article explores the dynamic and the results of efforts by citizens to resist the costs passed onto them by public–private partnerships for infrastructure, through examining citizen engagement in two problematic projects in Taiwan and China. In both cases, the design and procurement phase focused on the government–investor relation, with no obvious opportunity for citizen voice and costs were displaced onto users. In the operational phase, citizen protest (voice) was more effective in resisting costs in Taiwan where the institutional environment was more open and responsive; in the China case, availability of alternative roads (choice) was crucial in resisting costs.