Public Procurement Regulation in (a) Crisis?: Global Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic

This timely book provides the first systematic analysis of global public procurement regulation and policy during and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic.

Through both thematic chapters and national case studies, this book: - explores the adequacy of traditional legal frameworks for emergency procurement; - examines how governments and international organisations have responded specifically to the pandemic; and
- considers how the experience of the pandemic and the political impetus for reform might be leveraged to improve public procurement more broadly.

Public procurement has been critical in delivering vital frontline public services both in the health sector and elsewhere, with procurement of ventilators, protective equipment and new hospitals all hitting the headlines. At the same time, procurers have faced the challenge of adjusting existing contracts to a new reality where, for example, some contracted services can no longer operate. Further, efficient and effective procurement will be an essential, and not a luxury, in the economic recovery.

With case studies on Italy, the UK, the USA, India, Singapore, Africa, Latin America and China, the book brings together the world’s leading academics and practitioners from across Europe, the Americas, Asia and Africa to examine these issues, providing an essential resource for policy makers, legislators, international organisations and academics.