Publication: Insights about Public Procurement: Key Findings from the B-READY Project
Loading...
Date
2025-05-21
ISSN
Published
2025-05-21
Editor(s)
Abstract
This Brief examines regulatory indicators that promote firm entry, ease of contracting with the government, fairness, transparency, and best value for money in public procurement systems across 50 economies. Drawing on indicators from the novel Public Procurement category under the Market Competition topic of the World Bank's Business Ready (B-READY) project, the analysis develops Composite Procurement Category scores categorized by economy income level. This approach offers a new perspective on considering procurement regulations and services from a competition standpoint. The study presents the current conditions and reveals that good practices in fostering competition in public procurement can be adopted and implemented regardless of an economy's income level. Findings show a signifcant variation in the adoption of digital procurement, which affects transparency and entry barriers, as well as disparities in gender representation, which weakens competition and dynamism in these markets.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“Nogués Comas, Antoni Albert; Torres Negrón, Kerenny. 2025. Insights about Public Procurement: Key Findings from the B-READY Project. Global Indicators Briefs; No. 31. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/43224 License: CC BY-NC 3.0 IGO.”
Associated URLs
Associated content
Other publications in this report series
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue
Citations
Collections
Related items
Showing items related by metadata.
Publication Measuring Public Procurement Rules and Practices(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2021-05)Given its size, public procurement matters for economic development. Transparency, competition, accountability, efficiency, and innovation are most commonly noted as guiding principles for achieving best value for money in public contracts. Yet, large-scale, frequently updated, and comparable data on public procurement processes are scarce. This paper presents the methodology and findings of a new global indicator that benchmarks public procurement regulations and practices across 191 economies. The indicator proposes three dimensions to measure the effective implementation of public procurement systems in practice, as applied to a standardized recurrent infrastructure (roads) contract. The three dimensions include the steps and associated time required to complete the procurement process, and the availability and sophistication of e-procurement platforms. A final, fourth component benchmarks the regulatory framework applicable to such contracts. Economies that score higher in the indicator are those with more effective governments, higher quality of roads, and smaller perceptions of corruption. Looking more closely at the scores along the four dimensions reveals that countries differ to a lesser extent in terms of regulatory practices, compared with the use of new technologies such as e-procurement, where considerable gaps between economies exist.Publication The World Bank Group and Public Procurement--An Independent Evaluation : Appendixes to Volume 1(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2014)Good public procurement practices are a major determinant of the effectiveness of public expenditure. On behalf of their citizens, governments typically spend as much as 5-20 percent of their gross domestic product on procurement of goods and services, and effective procurement policies enable better use of government budgets. Good national procurement practices are therefore an essential element of the poverty reduction focus of the Bank. Good procurement in Bank projects is also associated with better development outcomes. Equally, sound public procurement in client countries is a prerequisite for the success of the Bank's newly introduced program for results lending instrument. The Bank seeks to ensure that its funds are used for the purpose intended and that they support development effectively and efficiently. Thus, the twin issues that underpin this Independent Evaluation Group (IEG) evaluation are first, how effectively has the World Bank helped build well-functioning public procurement systems in client countries and second, how well have Bank procurement policies and procedures for its investment lending supported the development effectiveness of Bank lending? The evaluation parallels an intensive review by Bank management of the institution's procurement function, motivated by the need to respond to a range of internal and external changes in the Bank's procurement environment. Several evaluations point to the value of coordination between procurement and public expenditure reforms, but also to the difficulties of realizing such coordination. Finally, there are queries related to the adaptability of current Bank procurement guidelines to new contexts, such as public-private partnerships (PPPs); technology loans; and small, fragile, or conflict-affected states. These questions have also contributed to the evaluation's design and coverage.Publication The World Bank Group and Public Procurement--An Independent Evaluation : Volume 2: Achieving Development Effectiveness through Procurement in Bank Financial Assistance(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2014)Good public procurement practices are a major determinant of the effectiveness of public expenditure. On behalf of their citizens, governments typically spend as much as 5-20 percent of their gross domestic product on procurement of goods and services, and effective procurement policies enable better use of government budgets. Good national procurement practices are therefore an essential element of the poverty reduction focus of the Bank. Good procurement in Bank projects is also associated with better development outcomes. Equally, sound public procurement in client countries is a prerequisite for the success of the Bank's newly introduced program for results lending instrument. The Bank seeks to ensure that its funds are used for the purpose intended and that they support development effectively and efficiently. Thus, the twin issues that underpin this Independent Evaluation Group (IEG) evaluation are first, how effectively has the World Bank helped build well-functioning public procurement systems in client countries and second, how well have Bank procurement policies and procedures for its investment lending supported the development effectiveness of Bank lending? The evaluation parallels an intensive review by Bank management of the institution's procurement function, motivated by the need to respond to a range of internal and external changes in the Bank's procurement environment. Several evaluations point to the value of coordination between procurement and public expenditure reforms, but also to the difficulties of realizing such coordination. Finally, there are queries related to the adaptability of current Bank procurement guidelines to new contexts, such as public-private partnerships (PPPs); technology loans; and small, fragile, or conflict-affected states. These questions have also contributed to the evaluation's design and coverage.Publication The World Bank Group and Public Procurement--An Independent Evaluation : Volume 1. Building Procurement Capacity and Systems(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2014)Good public procurement practices are a major determinant of the effectiveness of public expenditure. On behalf of their citizens, governments typically spend as much as 5-20 percent of their gross domestic product on procurement of goods and services, and effective procurement policies enable better use of government budgets. Good national procurement practices are therefore an essential element of the poverty reduction focus of the Bank. Good procurement in Bank projects is also associated with better development outcomes. Equally, sound public procurement in client countries is a prerequisite for the success of the Bank's newly introduced program for results lending instrument. The Bank seeks to ensure that its funds are used for the purpose intended and that they support development effectively and efficiently. Thus, the twin issues that underpin this Independent Evaluation Group (IEG) evaluation are first, how effectively has the World Bank helped build well-functioning public procurement systems in client countries and second, how well have Bank procurement policies and procedures for its investment lending supported the development effectiveness of Bank lending? The evaluation parallels an intensive review by Bank management of the institution's procurement function, motivated by the need to respond to a range of internal and external changes in the Bank's procurement environment. Several evaluations point to the value of coordination between procurement and public expenditure reforms, but also to the difficulties of realizing such coordination. Finally, there are queries related to the adaptability of current Bank procurement guidelines to new contexts, such as public-private partnerships (PPPs); technology loans; and small, fragile, or conflict-affected states. These questions have also contributed to the evaluation's design and coverage.Publication Public Procurement Reform in Latin America and the Caribbean(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2011-07)Procurement is a vital component of a country's public administration that links the financial system with economic and social outcomes. The state of government procurement greatly determines the governance and performance of community services and cuts across almost every area of planning, program management, and budgeting. Managing up to 20 percent of gross domestic product, a public procurement system that optimizes value-for-money has wide-ranging national benefits. On the other hand, weaknesses in procurement management under-deliver social services and increase sovereign risk for foreign investment. The analysis raises significant considerations about whether the development agencies, by promoting only a traditional model of procurement, are keeping pace with the changing needs of modern government. A refocus of procurement legislation and regulation in terms of standards and results rather than procedures would seem to represent a better match for modern entities. This would represent a significant cultural shift in the administration of procurement in these jurisdictions, and would require a major shift in the monitoring, evaluation and audit of this function. It would also have major implications for its professionalization.
Users also downloaded
Showing related downloaded files
No results found.