Green Light for PPP on German Motorways?

Abstract

While public–private partnerships (PPPs) have surged worldwide since the 1990s, they have been met with growing skepticism during the last years. A recent revision of Germany’s constitutional rules on motorway construction and observations on the use of PPPs published by both the German and the European Courts of Auditors illustrate this new caution. These two examples fit into a general trend towards a revival of the public sector, which can be summarized under the cross-level umbrella term “publicization.” It would, however, be remiss to replace the uncritical euphoria that once surrounded privatization with a similarly undifferentiated euphoria regarding publicization. Rather, it is crucial to identify the most appropriate solution for the fulfilment of each public task from the “toolbox” of publicization on the one hand and privatization on the other hand in order to ensure the most effective completion of public functions.

Keywords

publicization / remunicipalization / recommunalization / nationalization / rena- tionalization / public–private partnerships / PPPs / privatization / motorways / infrastructure / construction / toll / economic efficiency / court of auditors / debt ceiling / economic impact analysis

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2019 Higher Education Press