Guest article on Transparency International Germany on the topic "Corona and corruption: the impact of pandemic management on public procurement"

The COVID-19 pandemic caused a dramatic relaxation of public procurement rules in order to purchase the equipment necessary to protect the public. As an unintended side effect, we have seen an increase in procurement-related corruption both in Germany and in Italy, a recent study finds. What contributed to this increase was the ambiguity of the rules, the lack of competitiveness of procurement procedures, and the pervasive influence of political actors on the public administration.

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Authors:

  • Eva Thomann: Department of Public Administration, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
  • Federica Marconi: Researcher at Multilateralism and Global Governance Program, Ph.D. candidate in Theory of Contracts, Services and Markets at Università degli Studi di Roma Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy
  • Asya Zhelyazkova: Department of Public Administration and Sociology, Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam Faculteit der Sociale Wetenschappen, Rotterdam, Netherlands