ABSTRACT
This chapter is basically motivated by the need to answer the question: “Why have Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) received remarkably greater attention in practice and research?” This chapter first overviews the historical background of PPPs and then explores global trends and features of PPPs by region and service area (sector). In addition, this chapter summarizes how scholars have viewed and described this worldwide phenomenon in defining PPPs and how they have specified various types (forms) of PPPs in the literature. Next, the chapter reviews recent studies regarding the determinants of PPPs. The chapter then discusses both the advantages and disadvantages of PPPs, which continue to be controversial, and the subject of the ongoing debate among scholars and practitioners in the public administration and policy field. Lastly, the chapter provides a comprehensive review of major theoretical approaches to the study of PPPs.
