Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management

Public procurement is increasingly recognized as an important tool to achieve social objectives. Since governments are typically one of the largest buyers in an economy, they have enormous purchasing power, which can be leveraged for social outcomes such as helping disadvantaged communities, ensuring labor rights, and minimizing negative environmental impacts. In spite of this, there is little understanding on social public procurement policies. Moreover, there is little research in the field of public administration to promote the use of these policies. This paper highlights a critical gap in public administration research and provides justification for more focused research on social public procurement