Public Private Partnerships in Europe for Building and Managing Public Infrastructures: An Economic Perspective

Public–private partnerships (PPPs) are long‐term contractual agreements between the public and private sector for the provision of public infrastructures and services. Due to tighter budget constraints and to a renewed interest in greater involvement of the private sector in the provision of public services, PPPs are likely to grow in the near future. In this paper, we review the theory and practice of PPPs, highlighting their potential role as well as discussing the main factors influencing the likelihood of performance failure.