This study builds upon prior work that delineates opposing tendencies of exceptionalism and congruence that measure the degree to which a body of public contracts law diverges or adheres to the norms of private contract law. This study has two objectives. First, it seeks to define more...

In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, the U.S. Congress passed new exceptions to U.S. procurement rules. The most important new exception, passed at the recommendation of the Bush administration, raised the limit for micro-purchases - essentially unregulated purchases - from $2,500 to $250,000. In...

Some U.S. local governments are leveraging public procurement to meet their sustainability goals. However, does the simultaneous pursuit of multiple sustainability objectives potentially slow down the speed of procurement processes? We suggest that the simultaneous pursuit of multiple...

A theoretical model relates case mix, staffing, and monitoring to the likelihood of a plea agreement. Analysis of federal drug trafficking cases in fiscal years 1993 through 1996 leads to the following conclusions: There are fewer pleas in districts that are understaffed and are facing more...

Regulatory reform efforts in a broad range of industries have resulted in increased importance of competitive forces as a means to allocate resources and improve economic efficiency. A number of indicators suggest that such forces have been stronger in the United States than in most other OECD...

The US Government is the largest purchaser of goods and services in the WORLD spending over $400 Billion annually. This figure does not take into consideration the 2009 American Reinvestment and Recovery Act/Stimulus Funding. The government purchases everything from products to services...

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times -- a year marked by genuine progress in public procurement law in some nations, and partial paralysis in others. This article presents the experience of Sweden (as part of the European Union), the United Kingdom (which is slated soon to depart...

The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which entered into force on 1 January 1994, is an agreement between Mexico, Canada and the United States to ensure that covered goods and services fall under a comprehensive free trade agreement among the three countries. NAFTA included, in...

Governments may exclude vendors from procurement awards for many reasons, including poor performance and corruption. Excluding a vendor, whether from a particular procurement (deciding that the vendor is not qualified for award) or from an entire procurement system (suspending or debarring the...