Institutions and Procurement Policy

Session Submission Type: Panel

Abstract

This panel explores how formal rules and political forces shape the practice and performance of public procurement across federal, state, and local arenas. Nagarajan and Brunjes show that the Trump administration’s rollback of DEIA directives led to a surge in terminations for small and disadvantaged businesses, revealing how policy shifts redistribute risk and transaction costs. Boykin and Nam flip the narrative on year-end spending spikes, demonstrating that fourth-quarter disbursements can be an intentional equity lever that fuels job creation in women- and minority-owned firms. Grandia and Warsen trace Dutch youth-care contracts from award to implementation, finding that incomplete contracts force municipalities to juggle fiscal discipline, tailored services, and the mix of formal versus relational governance. Complementing these accounts, a study of state competitive-bidding thresholds shows that active judicial engagement accelerates the adoption of stricter bidding rules, underscoring courts as catalysts of institutional change in procurement. Taken together, the papers illuminate the persistent tension between efficiency and equity, showing how institutional design choices reverberate through contractor behavior, public service delivery, and socio-economic inclusion. Collectively, they call for a multi-level, interdisciplinary lens that treats procurement not as neutral administration but as contested policy arena where rules, values, and power intersect.

Policy Area

• Public and Nonprofit Management and Finance

Secondary Policy Area

• Politics, Media, and the Policy Process

Chair

• Benjamin Manning Brunjes, University of Washington

Discussant

• Lachezar G Anguelov, The Evergreen State College

Organizer

• Benjamin Manning Brunjes, University of Washington

Individual Presentations

• Contract Terminations in Federal Procurement: Assessing the Disparate Effects on Small and Disadvantaged Businesses - Presenting Author: Srinithya Nagarajan, University of Washington; Non-Presenting Co-Author: Benjamin Manning Brunjes, University of Washington

• Government Waste or Win? Rethinking Year-End Spending Spikes as Investment in Underrepresented Contractors - Presenting Author: Emily Boykin, Augusta University; Non-Presenting Co-Author: Jaeyeong Nam, Kyung Hee University

• When the contract is incomplete: the dynamics of negotiations in the realization phase of public-private partnerships. - Presenting Author: Rianne Warsen, Erasmus University Rotterdam