The effects of decentralisation on public procurement performance: An analysis on EU countries and Türkiye

In this study, the effect of decentralization on public procurement performance was investigated and it was concluded that organisational structure is an important factor affecting public procurement performance. It has been determined that the semi-central or decentralised public procurement bodies in EU countries create inconsistency between procurement regulations and this situation negatively affects public procurement performance. In addition, the decentralised bodies do not have the sufficient administrative capacity to effectively carry out public procurement processes. Empirical analysis shows that central governments exhibit higher performance compared to local governments in terms of price savings and competition in EU countries. Although the results of the analysis, in which the degree of public procurement decentralisation is included, show that price savings and competition are achieved in the tenders held by local governments in countries where the decentralisation is high, the efficiency level in central governments has not been reached. According to the results of the analysis, local governments perform better than central governments in the application of the most economically advantageous factor. This finding, which can be interpreted as that local governments take into consideration the preferences and priorities specific to the subject of the tender, reveals that Oates's argument that local units are effective decision-makers may be valid in the field of public procurement. However, when all the results are evaluated together, local governments show poor performance in public procurement compared to central governments. In Turkey, public procurement regulations and practices follow a parallel pattern with the centralisation and decentralisation reforms in public administration. With the decentralisation reforms, the public procurement practices of local governments increased. However, due to the centralisation trend that started especially since 2011, the weight of the central government in public procurement processes has increased and the public procurement expenditures of local governments have decreased significantly. The centralisation and concentration of decision-making processes on the one hand causes public procurement to take on a monopolistic structure. One of the areas where the conflict between the central government and the local government is most evident is public procurement. As a result, the lack of clear determination of power and authority between the central and the local government and the tendency of centralisation cause public procurement practices to be shaped in line with the will of the central government.