Intergovernmental cooperation and joint purchasing agreements: Do governments free‐ride?

Public management scholars argue that collective action problems (e.g., incentives to free‐ride on the efforts of others or shirk agreements) threaten the feasibility of intergovernmental cooperation. Drawing on collective action theory, this article examines factors associated with overcoming free‐...

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Published in:Public Administration Review Vol. 84; no. 4; pp. 604 - 623
Main Author: Madsen, Morten Skov
Format: Article
Published: Wiley-Blackwell Jul2024
Subjects:
Online Access:View this record in EBSCOhost
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        atl: Intergovernmental cooperation and joint purchasing agreements: Do governments free‐ride?
      aug:
        au: Madsen, Morten Skov
        affil: Department of Social Sciences and Business, Roskilde University, Roskilde, Denmark
      su:
        Intergovernmental cooperation
        Public administration
        Peer pressure
        Social norms
        Grave goods
        Purchasing contracts
        Subnational governments
        Monetary incentives
      sug:
        subj:
          Intergovernmental cooperation
          Public administration
          Peer pressure
          Social norms
          Grave goods
          Other General Government Support
          Purchasing contracts
          Subnational governments
          Monetary incentives
      ab: Public management scholars argue that collective action problems (e.g., incentives to free‐ride on the efforts of others or shirk agreements) threaten the feasibility of intergovernmental cooperation. Drawing on collective action theory, this article examines factors associated with overcoming free‐riding incentives and provides evidence challenging the idea that governments are prone to such strategic behavior. The empirical analysis of a national Danish purchasing group demonstrates how coercion is not necessary to induce subnational governments to incur private costs to join the group and, despite opportunity and incentive to free‐ride, contribute to its production of joint purchasing agreements—collective goods whose quality depends on the staff resources and expertise the participating governments contribute to their production. Further, multivariate analyses find that governments are more likely to help produce these collective goods when they receive more of their benefits, face lower contribution costs, and receive stronger social norm pressures from peers.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype: Article
      src: R
    language: English
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