Purchasing Prosperity: The Economics of Government Procurement

Government procurement is big business, typically accounting for 10 to 20 percent of annual GDP depending on the country and year. Given this scale and the high level of discretion involved, it is hardly surprising that policy makers often view procurement systems as a powerful industrial policy tool to achieve macroeconomic policy objectives.

Many procurement policies focus on directing government purchases toward specific sectors or firms, promoting initiatives such as "buy small," "buy local," or "buy green." However, tools to evaluate whether these policies are achieving their intended goals remain limited. In this Policy Research Talk, Manuel García-Santana will share new insights from economic research to address these pressing questions, including:

• Are these policies effective in achieving their intended objectives?
• Do they generate negative unintended consequences?
• Are the macroeconomic effects of these policies sizeable?
• Do these outcomes depend on the country's stage of development?

The answers to these questions will equip policy makers with a more nuanced understanding of the trade-offs involved in the design of procurement policies along with their macroeconomic consequences.

• SPEAKER
• Manuel García-Santana

  Senior Economist, Development Research Group

  Manuel García-Santana is a Senior Economist in the Macroeconomics and Growth Unit of the Development Research Group. His research focuses on the macroeconomic aspects of development and trade. Before joining the World Bank, Manuel was an Associate Professor at Pompeu Fabra University and a Kenen Fellow at Princeton University, International Economics Section.

  Manuel García-Santana
• DISCUSSANT
• Majed ElBayya

  Regional Produrement Manager, Middle East & North Africa

  Majed ElBayya is the Regional Procurement Manager for the Middle East and North Africa region at the World Bank. He obtained his PhD and Master's degrees in civil engineering-Hydraulics from the University of Missouri-Columbia, MO, USA and his B.Sc. in Civil Engineering from Birzeit University, Palestine. Dr. ElBayya has worked extensively on country public procurement reviews, country public procurement reforms, fiduciary review and led/participated in several studies and research on public procurement. He has provided many capacity building trainings on World Bank procurement procedures and contract management.

  Majed ElBayya
• CHAIR
• Deon Filmer

  Director, Development Research Group

  Deon Filmer is Director of the Development Research Group at the World Bank. He has previously served as Acting Research Manager in the Research Group, Co-Director of the World Development Report 2018: Learning to Realize Education's Promise, and Lead Economist in the Human Development department of the Africa Region of the World Bank. He works on issues of human capital and skills, service delivery, and the impact of policies and programs to improve human development outcomes-with research spanning the areas of education, health, social protection, and poverty and inequality. He has published widely in refereed journals, including studies of the impact of demand-side programs on schooling and learning; the roles of poverty, gender, orphanhood, and disability in explaining education inequalities; and the determinants of effective service delivery.

  Deon Filmer

The monthly Policy Research Talks showcase the latest findings of the World Bank's research department, challenge and contribute to the institution's intellectual climate, and re-examine conventional wisdom in current development theories and practice. These talks facilitate a dialogue between researchers and operational staff and inform World Bank operations both globally and within partner countries. Read More »