Government procurement

When governments purchase goods or services from private parties for governmental use, it is referred to as “government procurement” or “public procurement”. Examples of government procurement include the awarding of contracts to build roads and buildings, the installation of communications systems and the maintenance of information technology networks. Because governments around the world spend a significant percentage of their budgets on such purchases, government procurement markets are valuable. At the same time, because government officials may use their purchasing behaviour to achieve goals beyond the mere functioning of government, procurement markets can be discriminatory, inefficient, and lack transparency.