No. 984 - The effect of administrative capacity in public procurement on project completion times

Questioni di Economia e Finanza (Occasional papers)
by Audinga Baltrunaite, Sauro Mocetti and Gabriele Rovigatti
December 2025
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Public procurement involves substantial financial resources and shapes long-term growth potential. This study uses data on public works tenders from 2012 to 2024 to examine how the quality of contracting authorities and project managers (RUPs) affects the completion times of public works in Italy - from the design phase to execution - and sheds light on the underlying mechanisms.

Contracting authorities with lower administrative capacity take up to five times longer than higher-capacity ones to design or award a project. The individual characteristics of project managers (RUPs) also affect durations: those who are more efficient in managing procurement procedures are also the ones who tend to select firms that complete works more quickly.

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  1. 17 December 2025
    No. 984 - The effect of administrative capacity in public procurement on project completion times
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    (only in Italian)

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