The Cost of Different Goals of Public Procurement

What should be the goal of public procurement? It was on this theme that the Swedish Competition Authority arranged the conference The Cost of Different Goals of Public Procurement, in Stockholm August 31 2011. The Swedish Competition Authority invited leading international experts in the field of procurement to discuss the goals that ought to govern public procurement in the future, at a well attended conference with participants from 24 countries. The speakers brought different perspectives to the discussion, including economics, law and organizational theory as well as the inside perspective of centrally placed actors in the reform process. This volume contains background papers for four of the presentations at the conference and provides a good overview of the issues covered at the conference, although it cannot capture the lively and inspiring debate at the event itself.