Can Public–Private Partnerships Leverage Private Investment in Agricultural Val.pdf

World Development Vol. 40, No. 1, pp. 96–109, 2012 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved 0305-750X/$ - see front matter /locate/worlddev doi:10.1016/j.worlddev.2011.05.017 Can Public–Private Partnerships Leverage Private Investment in Agricultural Value Chains in Africa? A Preliminary Review COLIN POULTON School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), UK and * JON MACARTNEY Independent Consultant Summary. — Public–private partnerships (PPPs) may be one way of increasing the level of private sector investment into poorly per- forming agricultural value chains. This paper considers a range of PPP mechanisms that respond to different market failures affecting such chains and draws on principal–agent theory to illustrate the challenges. It reviews emerging experience with a number of these mechanisms along with experience from other sectors that may shed light on “generic” problems of implementing PPPs in Africa. While finding some positive impacts on investment, it notes that state failures can also undermine PPP effectiveness. As the evidence base is still limited, it calls on organizations promoting innovative