Governance Impact on Public-Private Partnerships for Member Countries of the World Bank Group

Abstract

Member countries of the World Bank Group (WBG) increasingly turn to public-private partnerships (PPPs) to finance their transportation infrastructure projects due to the financial burden of undertaking big projects on their own. The World Bank coordinates the PPPs between investors and recipient countries. PPPs are expected to produce positive outcomes that respond to policy objectives. However, the outcomes and benefits of PPPs not only depend on several factors, but more importantly on how those factors interact with one another to yield the expected outcomes. This dissertation has identified good governance, PPP governance, and PPP outcome as the key concepts in the examination of the value that PPPs bring to countries that receive transportation PPP contracts. Using secondary data, the study explores the relationships between the three major concepts and assesses the possible mediating role of the internationally recognized PPP practices on the relationship between good governance and PPP outcome. The relationships are also examined for groups of countries based on their income level. The dissertation uses the overarching theory of good governance to explore these relationships. The dissertation analyzes the relationships using multivariate regression in the generalized structural equation modeling (GSEM) in the STATA package. Most of the hypotheses set in the study were supported. Recommendations are made to the World Bank and member countries to conduct effective transportation PPP contracts. The contribution to theory and practice is discussed. A framework for examining the relationships is provided.