Language as a trade barrier: Evidence from Georgian public procurement
Journal
International Journal of Industrial Organization
ISSN
0167-7187
Type
working paper
Date Issued
2019-09-19
Author(s)
Abstract
Provision of government contract information in English reduces the barriers to participation by foreign suppliers. We measure this effect using data from the country of Georgia, where English translations of government tenders were provided above specified contract size thresholds, which varied over time and across contract types. The provision of English documentation more than doubles foreign company participation for low value contracts, and leads to smaller, though still substantial, increases for higher value contracts. Because foreign bidder participation in Georgia is relatively small, the resulting impact on prices is in the order of only one percent. However, even these small price effects are a non-trivial fraction of the profit margins of domestic competitors.
Language
English
Publisher
Elsevier
Pages
36
Official URL
Subject(s)
Eprints ID
259870