Public Values in Public–Private Partnerships

Although public–private partnerships (PPPs) are often evaluated in terms of efficiency, their impact on public values is often neglected. In order to find out what we know about the public values–PPPs relation, this article reviews public administration literature and describes two opposite perspectives. The first perspective argues that public values are at stake whereas the second argues they are safeguarded or even reinforced. We argue that the assumptions of both perspectives are biased and incomparable due to the fact that each perspective holds a different ontological understanding of the concept of public values. Finally, we provide some ideas for further research.