India procures 20% of GDP publicly: World Bank

Public procurement is the process of purchasing goods, services or works by the public sector from the private sector

GN Bureau | December 3, 2016


#Economy   #World Bank   #GDP   #Ease of Doing Business  
World Bank
World Bank

South Asia has the highest share of public procurement in GDP, at 19.3%; followed by sub-Saharan Africa at 14.9%. “India procures 20% of GDP publicly, Pakistan 19.8%. East Asia has the lowest share, 9.3% of GDP, largely driven by China, where only 2.8% of GDP is generated through publicly procured projects. The Philippines and Thailand also procure less than 3% of GDP publicly,” said a World Bank blog.

The blog “Is public procurement a rich country’s policy?” by Simeon Djankov and co-authored by Federica Saliola and Asif Islam said that public procurement is the process of purchasing goods, services or works by the public sector from the private sector.

The range of economic sectors concerned by public procurement is as wide as the needs of a government to properly function and deliver services to its citizens. Governments turn to the private sector to supply goods and services for the construction of schools, to purchase hospital supplies, to secure computer services in public buildings, renew a fleet of city buses, or construct a new road as indicated in the World Bank Doing Business 2017 report.

 It added: “It is surprising that no attempt has been made to-date to systematically and consistently collect reliable statistics on the size of public procurement in economies around the world. Data are publicly available for high-income countries. The European Union calculates the average share of public procurement in the GDP of its 28 member states to be 16%. The OECD also collects statistics on the share of public procurement in its 35 member countries, which averaged 12% of GDP in 2015. For the rest of the world, there is scarce data and studies. The World Trade Organization estimates the share of public procurement in GDP globally to be between 10 and 15%, implying that public procurement is as used in middle-income and poor countries as in high-income ones. Is this actually the case?”

The blog said that the data show low-income countries have the largest share of public procurement in GDP, at 14.5%; followed by upper-middle income countries, at 13.6%. In Eritrea, for example, public procurement is a whopping 33% of GDP, due to both significant inflows of development assistance that go through public procurement and the small tax base which makes government expenditures almost entirely dependent on development aid. In Angola, the share is 26% of GDP, for much the same reasons.

Some rich countries also have high shares of public procurement in GDP, for example the Netherlands at 20.2% or Finland at 18.5%. The ratio of government expenditure to GDP in these countries is twice as large as in most emerging economies, underscoring the significance of public procurement. High-income countries in the Middle East, however, show markedly lower share of public procurement: Oman at 6% of GDP, Bahrain at 8.2%.

The figures suggest that public procurement is indeed as important in developing countries as it is in advanced economies. Governments in developing countries are significant purchasers or good and services, and these markets represent huge opportunities to enhance competition and development. This result can be used to refocus efforts to improve the quality of service delivery.

“If public procurement ensures competitive markets for government goods and services, one would expect benefits for the consumer: higher quality and perhaps lower prices. The ultimate benefit may be reduced corruption, as a transparent procurement process will weed out some corrupt practices,” the blog added.

Comments

 

Other News

Budget: Progress towards SDGs and areas for improvement

The Union Budget 2025-26 outlines India`s vision for economic and social growth while also reflecting the country`s commitment to sustainable development. As India moves closer to the 2030 deadline for the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), this budget presents a balanced approach

Repo rate cut by 25 basis points to 6.25%

The Reserve Bank of India has, for the first time in five years, reduced the policy repo rate under the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) by 25 basis points to 6.25% with immediate effect. Consequently, the standing deposit facility (SDF) rate will stand adjusted to 6.00% and the marginal

Amitav Ghosh’s new work: Connections between the word and the world

Wild Fictions: Essays By Amitav Ghosh HarperCollins, 496 pages, Rs 799.00 Amitav Ghosh, one of a handful of Ind

How markets can help (and also hinder) fight against pollution

In the annals of environmental policy, few ideas have been as transformative as the Emissions Trading System (ETS). Born from the minds of economists in the late 1960s, this market-based approach to pollution control has evolved from a theoretical concept to a global tool in the fight against climate chang

Will Bihar complement the resolution of Viksit Bharat 2047?

As India completes its diamond jubilee as a republic, I am reminded of a statement by Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, delivered during an address to the Bihar Chamber of Commerce in Patna on March 28, 2006. He said, “I have visited Bihar numerous times, and it has always been a source of happiness for me to

All you wanted to know about Budget: Key Highlights

Here are the key highlights of the proposal of the Union Budget presented in parliament by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Satuday: NO INCOME TAX ON AVERAGE MONTHLY INCOME OF UPTO RS 1 LAKH; TO BOOST MIDDLE CLASS HOUSEHOLD SAVINGS & CONSUMPTION BENEFITTING

Visionary Talk: Amitabh Gupta, Pune Police Commissioner with Kailashnath Adhikari, MD, Governance Now



Archives

Current Issue

Opinion

Facebook Twitter Google Plus Linkedin Subscribe Newsletter

Twitter