Empirical PPP experiences in Europe: National variations of a global concept

This chapter aims to provide a structured overview of the spread of public-private partnerships (PPPs) in several countries of Central, Eastern, and Southern Europe. This follows earlier research that indicated considerable institutional differences between these 3 country clusters. The focus is on the long-term infrastructure contracts form of PPPs as outlined by Hodge et al. The practice of PPPs are discussed, whereby the implementation dynamics of PPPs are mapped in various European countries with regard to policy fields and sectors, government levels, as well as types of existing PPP projects. The final section provides some insights into recent research and evaluations on PPPs to learn about the main challenges that confront PPPs within Europe.