Public-Private Partnerships in China: Governance Logic and Policy Implications

Since 2014, China has developed what is now the world’s largest Public–Private Partnerships (PPPs) market. This book provides a comprehensive and empirically grounded exploration of China’s experience with PPPs. Since 2014, China has developed what is now the world’s largest public–private partnerships (PPPs) market. This book provides a comprehensive and empirically grounded exploration of China’s experience with PPPs. Based on a detailed project-level dataset collected between 2014 and 2023, the author examines China’s PPP governance from multiple perspectives. The analysis covers policy evolution, institutional experimentation, and regional diffusion patterns. It also investigates the fiscal incentives shaping local government behavior and the institutional constraints embedded in existing regulatory arrangements. The empirical chapters assess the extent to which spatial diffusion theory, transaction cost theory, capital structure theory, and cutback management theory explain the dynamics observed in practice, while also offering a timely assessment of recent PPP reforms in China. This book will be of interest to scholars seeking to understand the evolution of PPP governance, as well as policymakers and practitioners looking for evidence-based insights.