Pushback for public–private partnerships (P3s) comes in part from their purported favoritism toward large firms. However, no study has empirically verified this claim. This paper examined the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) program to assess whether delivery methods play a role in the participation of minority- and women-owned firms in federally assisted transportation contracts. A sample of 134 contracts from the US Major Transportation Project Database served as the dataset to run linear regressions. Results revealed that P3 associates with higher DBE goals than design–bid–build (DBB). Plausible explanations include P3 being associated with a larger contract size, more public attention, more potential subcontracting opportunities with design included in the package, and intensified agency desire for greater diversity in DBE subcontracts. Moreover, the delivery method has an insignificant effect on DBE attainment. This paper also introduces the DBE envelope, a radar plot capable of graphically assessing DBE program implementation.


    Access

    Download

    Check availability in my library

    Order at Subito €


    Export, share and cite



    Title :

    Public–Private Partnership and Social Equity: An Empirical Study of the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Program


    Additional title:

    Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board


    Contributors:
    Zhang, Kunqi (author) / Cui, Qingbin (author)


    Publication date :

    2021-07-07




    Type of media :

    Article (Journal)


    Type of material :

    Electronic Resource


    Language :

    English



    Public Private Partnership

    IHK Südöstl. Westfalen zu Arnsberg | IuD Bahn | 2004


    Balancing Private and Public Interests in Public–Private Partnership Contracts through Optimization of Equity Capital Structure

    Sharma, Deepak K. / Cui, Qingbin / Chen, Lijian et al. | Transportation Research Record | 2010


    Public Private Partnership

    Fleckl, Reinhard | IuD Bahn | 1996



    Malaysian Toll Road Public–Private Partnership Program

    Ward, John L. / Sussman, Joseph M. | Transportation Research Record | 2006