A public-private partnership (PPP), a long-term pooling of public and private partners’ resources, sharing risks, responsibilities, and results, is a successful tool employed in many countries to develop public infrastructure. The article argues that PPP is the optimal cooperation between the state and private sectors to solve social and economic problems. Even though PPP as the phenomenon of the modern economy appeared not too long ago, it had objective prerequisites, including the prior forms of cooperation between the state and individuals. The study of these prerequisites reveals the development patterns of PPP development, including its effectiveness, that allows politicians to harness them to develop an optimal state policy in the area. The article provides a comparative analysis of the PPP abroad to assess the intermediate results of the PPP development in Russia. In many countries (Canada, France, and Great Britain), a PPP as an economic model for developing the infrastructure complex has proved its viability and significantly contributes to social and economic development. It is essential that in addition to direct economic effects, a publicprivate partnership might result in indirect influence, including a positive impact on institutional development. Public-private partnership in Russia has not yet found wide application for improving the infrastructure complex. Therefore, it does not have enough impact on economic development. Despite the large volume of research on PPP, there are few comparative studies of PPP development in countries at different levels of socio-economic development. Relying on the conducted study of PPP in Russia and the leading foreign countries, the strategic model of PPP proposed by the author as well as broader foreign experience in PPP, the article provides recommendations aimed at better utilization of the opportunities provided by fostering of this form of cooperation between the state and individuals and increasing its role in the economic development of Russia.