ANNOUNCEMENTS

The George Mason University Center for Transportation Public-Private Partnership Policy has released two recent case-study reports that found surface transportation infrastructure public-private partnership (P3) projects generally met or exceeded the objectives set by their sponsoring public agencies. The studies found the major objectives across the nine cases to include cost reductions for the public sector and/or faster completion times compared to traditional procurement. The study also identified five major reasons public agencies effectively engaged in P3 delivery approaches. In addition, the reports present suggestions for the public sector to improve P3 outcomes. All project materials can be downloaded here.
To learn more about the study or to request a briefing, contact Center Director Dr. Jonathan Gifford, at jgifford@gmu.edu

 

• Thank you to all who attended and spoke at the 5th Annual P3 Forum on April 23, 2019. Read more for a summary of the event, agenda forum, and presentations.
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  Lauren N. McCarthy, the Center’s Program Manager and Schar PhD Student was selected as a 2019 Google Public Policy Fellow. During the summer of 2019 Lauren will be in residence at Niskanen Center working on transportation and technology policy issues.

“Bankruptcy Policy and Surface Transportation Public-Private Partnerships: A Comparative Analysis of the US and Europe.”
This paper explores bankruptcy legal frameworks as an explanation for perceived differences in U.S. surface transportation PPPs (or PPPs) outcomes compared to the European market. Through seven U.S. and eleven European PPP bankruptcy cases, the study provides some evidence that the U.S. legal framework, either Chapter 9 or 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, favors continuous facility operation through debt restructuring rather than asset liquidation. The case studies also highlight how European countries, particularly France and Spain, have adopted new legal frameworks mimicking U.S. Chapter 11, promoting debt-restructuring procedures to diminish the fiscal impacts associated with asset liquidation.

Citation:
Bolaños, Lisardo, Jonathan Gifford, and Jeong Yun Kweun. “Bankruptcy Policy and Surface Transportation Public-Private Partnerships: A Comparative Analysis of the US and Europe.” Case Studies on Transport Policy (2019). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cstp.2019.04.003

• The Center welcomes a new team member, Eric Childress as a Graduate Research Associate. Eric Childress is a first year Public Policy Ph.D.  student at the Schar School of Policy and Government. His research interests include international development, international trade, financialization, and public finance. Before coming to the Schar School, Eric served as a proposal manager for various international development firms. He earned his M.A. in International Commerce and Policy at the Schar School in 2016, and a B.A. in History from Ferrum College in 2012.

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  • On January 15, 2019 Center Director, Jonathan Gifford and Center Researcher and Program Manager, Lauren N. McCarthy, along with other invited attendees participated in the 6th annual Town-Gown Roundtable co-hosted by ARTBA and AIAI. Read more about the event

  here.

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  Center director Jonathan Gifford recently caught up with Center alumni Vinh Mai in January 2019. Vinh was an associate of the Center during his undergraduate work in Economics in the George Mason Honors College. He is now studying for a Msc in Infrastructure Investment and Finance at the University College London.

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• Center Director, Jonathan Gifford and Editor, Morghan Transue, recently published a book chapter as part of an OECD report:
• Subnational Public-Private Partnerships Meeting Infrastructure Challenges.
• The book chapter “Public-private partnerships for infrastructure at the subnational level of government: Opportunities and challenges in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States” presents a case study of public-private partnerships (PPPs) for infrastructure development in the state of Virginia, United States. As one of the first US states to enable PPP procurement, Virginia’s more than 25-year history with PPPs and their governance provide a unique opportunity to study subnational governments’ challenges and success factors in practice. The full report can be accessed here.

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• Lauren N. McCarthy, the Center’s Researcher and Program Manager, recently completed a policy document for the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, United for Sustainable Smart City (U4SSC) program – “Guidelines for the development Smart Sustainable City Action Plan.” The document provides guidance, tools and methodology for city leaders seeking to implement smart sustainable goals, including guidance on public-private partnerships. The document can be downloaded here.

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KyooWon Oh, a former student of the Professor Jonathan Gifford, recently published a book chapter titled “Public and Private Partnerships for Renewable Energy Enhancement in Developing Countries: A Case of the Solar Rooftop Project in Gujarat, India.” The chapter was inspired by work the author began in Professor Gifford’s P3 Policy class. The paper can be accessed here.

• In November 2018 Center Director Jonathan Gifford presented at IRF Global R2T Conference and Expo. As an invited speaker Professor Gifford participated in both a discussion panel and present the Center’s latest update to the Evidence Project. Read more about the Evidence Project here.

Lauren N. McCarthy, the Center’s Researcher and Program Manager presented “Understanding Project Cancellation Risks in U.S. P3 Surface Transportation Infrastructure” at the annual APPAM conference. The research examines the risk of project cancellation in U.S. public-private partnership (P3) surface transportation infrastructure. The abstract and full conference paper can be accessed here.

• Center director, Jonathan Gifford, provided comments on Robert Poole’s new book: “Rethinking American Highways” in a Captiol Hill briefing presented by Cato Institute on September 7, 2018.

Click here to watch the full discussion

On August 17, during the meeting of the Utah task force created this year to investigate transportation funding options Center Director Jonathan Gifford shared the Center’s work on observed outcomes of P3s. The task force is looking at the potential for P3s in the state for both roads and transit and the findings from the Center’s Evidence project provides insightful conclusions. Click here for more information on the P3 Evidence Project

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  Center Director, Jonathan Gifford joined Robert Poole, The Reason Foundation and Joung Lee, Policy Director, American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) on August 1 for the panel Accelerating Innovation: Rethinking Transportation Financing, a Joint YPT-WTS-TRF Event at Reason Foundation offices. The panel was moderated by Baruch Feigenbaum, The Reason Foundation.

  

Lisardo Bolaños, Center GRA and PhD Candidate, presented “Las Vegas Monorail Bank-ruptcy: Opportunism in Public-Private Partnerships, co-authored with Morghan Transue, and Jonathan Gifford, at the  Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management (APPAM) International Conference, Mexico City on July 20.

Center Director Jonathan Gifford presented The P3 evidence project: phase I and II during the Public-Private Partnership Conference, American Association of Road and Transportation Builders Association, Washington, D.C. (July 19).

Jonathan Gifford, Center Director, gave an invited lecture to a Public Policy Training Group from Qianghai, China on public-private partnerships. The lecture took place at the Schar School of Policy and Government, George Mason University on July 9, 2018.

Center Director Jonathan Gifford, Center Staff Lauren N. McCarthy, Lisardo Bolaños, and Visiting Scholar Motoki Murayama attended the Blueprint 2025 Leadership Forum on Thursday, April 26, 2018. Vinh The Mai, former research associate with the Center, and current researcher with CG/LA is pictured here with Dr. Gifford. A bipartisan coalition, Blueprint 2025 mission is to identify and promote increased infrastructure investment in the United States.