Elements of public procurement reform and their effect on the public sector in lac

Abstract

Between 2007 and 2013, public procurement systems in Latin America and the Caribbean underwent a critical reform process. However, not much is known about the elements of reform and their effect on the public sector. In order to assess this gap in knowledge, this study used an institutional evaluation multivariate tool developed and carried out by the Inter-American Development Bank called PRODEV. Based on a sample panel of countries, effects on the development of public procurement systems were calculated. The results indicated that, of the three main areas of procurement reform evaluated, the creation of a procurement agency2 had the largest impact. At the same time, evidence was found that backed the hypothesis that creating these agencies had a positive effect on the perception of public sector performance.