Highway Procurement During the Great Recession and Stimulus

Dakshina De Silva and Benjamin Rosa

No 33299, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: We study highway procurement in Texas during the Great Recession and stimulus period, finding increased competition with more bidders and lower bids. We argue that the recession reduced opportunity costs, in part due to a slump in private-sector construction. We evaluate costs and efficiency by developing methods to estimate an empirical auction model tailored for public bidding and demonstrate that contracts became more efficient and less costly. A counterfactual analysis confirms that infrastructure procurement during recessions not only stimulates the economy but also enables the government to complete necessary projects at lower costs.

JEL-codes: D44 H57 H71 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024-12
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-ppm and nep-tre
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