From modest beginnings in the early 1990's, a reform movement in the regulation of public procurement has mushroomed into a global imperative. Two fundamental values of international free trade policy value for money and the deterrence of corruption have brought intense scrutiny to bear on public procurement practices in nearly every country. Now international standards (notably those of the WTO and the EU) must be met if a trading nation is to take its place in the global markets. This collection of essays offers fifteen distinct views on the current status and trends in public procurement and its various aspects. From general discussion of setup, overcoming obstacles, ensuring transparency, and compliance with international rules to specific issues raised in economies as diverse as Kosovo, China, and the United States, Public Procurement: The Continuing Revolution provides a great wealth of insight and information. Although the emphasis throughout is on legal issues, the contributors include not only lawyers but also economists and specialists in purchasing practice. In addition, this is the first book to note the relatively recent trend, in developed countries, toward a less prescriptive, more flexible approach to regulation in which a degree of transparency is sacrificed. The question of how this trend will affect international procurement regimes is perhaps the most vital and interesting aspect of current theory and practice in the field. Most of these essays were originally presented as papers at an international conference hosted by the Public Procurement Research Group at the University of Nottingham in September 2001.

The ninth book in the IBM Endowment Series on the Business of Government, The Procurement Revolution continues the tradition of timely and vital information dissemination, which the series has come to stand for. Focusing on the profound and revolutionary changes the government has had and will have to make in its approach to procuring goods and services, this book strives to capture the creativity and energy that can and should be brought to government procurement.

Regulation, . the challenge of widening participation in global & regional agreements & of making these agreements work, . regulating defence procurement, & . the use of procurement to promote social & environmental policies. Public Procurement: Global Revolution brings together the leading experts from academia, practice, & international institutions to describe the major global developments that have occurred in public procurement regulation & to examine some key current policy issues. The dynamic nature of the topic & the quality of coverage make this a useful, interesting resource for academics in the fields of international law & economics as well as practitioners & officials involved in international trade.

In many countries and sectors, public procurement is developing from a functional orientation to an effective socio-economic policy lever. There is a great interest among managers and academics to learn from other countries’ and other sectors’ change initiatives and how they dealt with the challenges they encountered. This text provides such learning opportunities, presenting case studies of public procurement, covering diverse nations, sectors and issues. The cases are combined with editorial commentary and contextualizing chapters to assist the student reader in understanding this complex topic. The text combines descriptions of cases of public procurement with cross case analysis to draw out the key dimensions to enable further examination of the central themes. Each case study concludes with three questions to aid its use as a teaching and training text. Edited by a team of internationally recognised experts in the field this innovative text illustrates the strategies and innovations within public procurement on a global scale and highlights common problems that all countries encounter. Public Procurement is vital reading for anyone with an interest in this topical area.