Do Exit Options Increase the Value-For-Money of Public-Private Partnerships?

Date
30.03.2020

Authors

Marco Buso (Catholic University of Sacred Heart, Interuniversity Centre for Public Economics – CRIEP); Cesare Dosi (University of Padova, Interuniversity Centre for Public Economics – CRIEP); Michele Moretto (University of Padova)

JEL Code
D81, D82, D86, H54

Keywords:
Public Infrastructure Services, Public-Private Partnerships, Adverse Selection, Real Options, Early Termination Fees

Publisher
2030 Agenda

Editor
Sergio Vergalli

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We study the effects of granting an exit option that enables the private party to early terminate a PPP project if it turns out to be financially loss-making. In a continuous-time setting with hidden information about operating profits, we show that an exit option, acting as a risk-sharing device, can soften agency problems and, in so doing, accelerate investment and increase the government’s expected payoff, even while taking into account the costs that the public sector will have to meet in the future to take direct responsibility on service provision.

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Suggested citation: Buso, M., C. Dosi, M. Moretto, (2020), ‘Do Exit Options Increase the Value-For-Money of Public-Private Partnerships?’, Nota di Lavoro 3.2020, Milano, Italy: Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei.