01896pab a2200157 454500008004000000100002200040245012600062260000900188300001500197362000800212520139200220650001801612650002701630650003101657773005001688180718b2017   xxu||||| |||| 00| 0 eng d  aZwalf, Sebastian   aCompetitive neutrality in public-private partnership evaluations: a non-neutral interpretation in comparative perspective  c2017  ap.225-237.  aDec  aInternationally, public-private partnerships (PPPs) have become an increasingly common part of government infrastructure programmes. The public sector comparator (PSC) is the key quantitative test to ensure that PPP projects achieve much vaunted value-for-money (VFM) compared to projects managed solely by governments. Despite attracting much debate over the preceding two decades, one component of the PSC that has received relatively little attention is that of competitive neutrality, which is the requirement to remove any advantages either delivery method, private or public, may have due to ownership. Competitive neutrality policies have found favour over the last two decades in an effort to enhance micro-economic competitive tension. In response, this article reviews the conceptual basis for competitive neutrality and considers how it has been applied within the PPP guidelines in eight G20 economies. It finds that, while most governments apply some principles of competitive neutrality, the application varies widely, with a tendency to favour the PPP option. It also finds that the objectives of VFM and competitive neutrality are competing and, in fact, contradictory, which raises the issue of whether a competitive neutrality adjustment should be made to all PPP evaluations. The conclusion is that such an adjustment should not be made in all instances. - Reproduced.  aG20 economies  aCompetitive neutrality  aPublic private partnership  aAsia Pacific Journal of Public Administration