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Infrastructure Contracts: Trust and Institutional Updating

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  • Xeni Dassiou
  • Jon Stern

Abstract

This paper discusses trust and trust perceptions in infrastructure contracts and supporting institutions. We focus on perceptions of the trustworthiness of the government purchasers of infrastructure services by the supplying companies and by the governments themselves. In particular, we allow for trust updating and trust misalignments which may give rise to "undertrusting" and "overtrusting". The core of the paper sets out a game theoretic model of contracts with dynamic adjustment of trust perceptions, which we use to explore the impact of trust misalignment both on economic efficiency (measured by expected welfare) and on investment levels. We explore flexible contracts with and without pre-payments, rigid contracts (which do not allow for post-investment renegotiation) and hybrid contracts. We then compare the efficiency of the flexible contracts to that of hybrid contracts using as a criterion the expected welfare implications of each contract. The model is used to shed light on current issues on the sustainability of private investment infrastructure contracts in developed and in developing countries, including the role of regulatory institutions.
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Suggested Citation

  • Xeni Dassiou & Jon Stern, 2009. "Infrastructure Contracts: Trust and Institutional Updating," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 35(1), pages 171-216, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:revind:v:35:y:2009:i:1:p:171-216
    DOI: 10.1007/s11151-009-9221-4
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. de Brux, Julie, 2010. "The Dark and Bright Sides of Renegotiation: An Application to Transport Concession Contracts," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 18(2), pages 77-85, June.
    2. Pollitt, Michael & Stern, Jon, 2011. "Human resource constraints for electricity regulation in developing countries: Developments since 2001," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 19(2), pages 53-60, June.
    3. Simplice A. Asongu & Cheikh T. Ndour & Judith C. M. Ngoungou, 2023. "The effects of gender political inclusion and democracy on environmental performance: evidence from the method of moments by quantile regression," Working Papers of the African Governance and Development Institute. 23/060, African Governance and Development Institute..
    4. Štěpán Veselý & Mirko Dohnal, 2012. "Decision making in goverment tenders: A formalized qualitative model," Acta Universitatis Agriculturae et Silviculturae Mendelianae Brunensis, Mendel University Press, vol. 60(4), pages 397-406.
    5. Jon Stern, 2012. "The relationship between regulation and contracts in infrastructure industries: Regulation as ordered renegotiation," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 6(4), pages 474-498, December.
    6. Wren-Lewis, Liam, 2014. "Utility regulation in Africa: How relevant is the British model?," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 31(C), pages 203-205.
    7. Wren-Lewis, Liam, 2013. "Commitment in utility regulation: A model of reputation and policy applications," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 210-231.
    8. Domingues, Sérgio & Sarmento, Joaquim Miranda, 2016. "Critical renegotiation triggers of European transport concessions," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 82-91.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Contracts; Infrastructure; Institutions; Regulation; Trust; D02; C78; L14; L51; L78; L97;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D02 - Microeconomics - - General - - - Institutions: Design, Formation, Operations, and Impact
    • C78 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Game Theory and Bargaining Theory - - - Bargaining Theory; Matching Theory
    • L14 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Transactional Relationships; Contracts and Reputation
    • L51 - Industrial Organization - - Regulation and Industrial Policy - - - Economics of Regulation
    • L78 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Primary Products and Construction - - - Government Policy
    • L97 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Transportation and Utilities - - - Utilities: General

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