This paper investigates the consequences of bureaucratic discretion in public procurement. I
exploit a Hungarian policy reform, which allows a “high-discretion” procedure below a …

We run a regression discontinuity design analysis to document the causal effect of
increasing buyers' discretion on procurement outcomes in a large database for public works …

We combine personnel records of the United States federal bureaucracy from 1997 to 2019
with administrative voter registration data to study how ideological alignment between …

The public health crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with the subsequent
economic emergency and social turmoil, has pushed governments to substantially and …

This paper studies whether firms trade political contributions for public procurement
contracts. Combining data on Lithuanian government tenders, corporate donors, and firm …

I study the trade-off between rules and discretion in the context of US federal procurement.
Below an arbitrary threshold amount, contracts can be awarded using procedures that are …

“Big G” typically refers to aggregate government spending on a homogeneous good. We
confront this notion with five facts for the universe of federal purchases. First, they are volatile …

We study the relationship between market structure and public procurement outcomes. In
particular, we ask whether and to what extent consolidation-driven increases in industry …

The government often provides incentives for manufacturer to improve carbon reduction
from low-carbon products through carbon reduction innovation, but the manufacturer's …

Are political connections in public procurement harmful or efficiency gaining for the public
sector, and what are the costs of favoritism toward politically connected firms? Exploiting …