Public Private Partnerships: Politics, Policy and Practice

Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) have been increasingly common in Australia and internationally since the 1980s. Yet despite their common usage PPPs have generally not been popular with academic authors. Using public policy and political science lenses, this thesis examines why it is that governments use the model. Part One considers the policy settings, and wider policy environment, for PPPs. Part Two looks at two major theories - behavioural science and agency theory - in an attempt to explain the PPP model through these lenses. In Part Three qualitative and quantitative research with PPP decision makers is reported on and analysed.