Concealed ownership of contractors, manipulation of tenders and the allocation of public procurement contracts
Abstract
This study provides evidence of a strong link between two channels facilitating rent-extraction in public procurement: between concealing the ultimate ownership of contractors and manipulation of the anticipated value of tenders. Using data on more than 15 300 tenders awarded to joint-stock companies in the Czech Republic during 2005 - 2010, the study shows that tender value manipulation has been incentivized by the 2006 procurement reform, which extablished several discontinuities in the anticipated value of tenders.