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Global Encyclopedia of Public Administration, Public Policy, and Governance pp 1–4Cite as

Public Purchasing and Agency Theory

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Synonyms

Asymmetry of information; Contracting authority; Contractor; Public contracts

Definition

Public procurement and, within this, public purchasing constitutes paid contracts concluded by and between the contracting authority’s institution and the contractor’s institution for services, supplies, or works. Public purchasing is accompanied by an asymmetry of information which assumes the form of an agency relationship.

Introduction

An asymmetry of information applies to transactional connections when one of the parties has greater knowledge on the subject matter of the transaction than the other, which results in a disturbance in the balance of power of the participants of the transaction and can lead to the dysfunction of the public procurement market. Information asymmetry involves having unequal information resources and, in itself, generates an imbalance of information that puts one of the parties to the transaction in a privileged position over the other, which is forced to...

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References

  • Chrisidu-Budnik A, Przedańska J (2017) The agency theory approach to the public procurement system. Wroclaw Rev Law Adm Econ 7(1):154–165

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  • Yukins CR (2010) A versatile prism: assessing procurement law through the principal-agent model. Public Contract Law J 40(1):64–86

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Administrative Studies, Faculty of Law, Administration and Economics, University of Wroclaw, Wroclaw, Poland

    Agnieszka Chrisidu-Budnik

Authors
  1. Agnieszka Chrisidu-Budnik
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Correspondence to Agnieszka Chrisidu-Budnik .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, FL, USA

    Ali Farazmand

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Chrisidu-Budnik, A. (2020). Public Purchasing and Agency Theory. In: Farazmand, A. (eds) Global Encyclopedia of Public Administration, Public Policy, and Governance. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-31816-5_1581-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-31816-5_1581-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-31816-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-31816-5

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Economics and FinanceReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences

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