Number of bidders, level of competition, and bid pricing in public procurement | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Number of bidders, level of competition, and bid pricing in public procurement Bagassé Hervé KAFIMBOU This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6381619/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract This article investigates the factors influencing the degree of competition and its effects on public procurement prices in Burkina Faso. The article uses a dataset comprising more than 1,600 public contracts awarded by different contracting authorities from 2016–2018. Two distinct models are used: a negative binomial model that explores the determinants of competition, measured by the number of bidders, and an instrumental variable model robust to heteroskedasticity to assess the impact of competition on the price of the winning bid. The results indicate that an optimal number of seven to nine bidders is required to take full advantage of competition, whereas the current average is only five. This disparity between the optimal and actual level of competition highlights the need to reform public procurement policies to encourage greater competition and improve efficiency. JEL Classification : C31, D41, D44, H57 Endogeneity competition auctions public procurement Full Text Additional Declarations The authors declare no competing interests. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. 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