This study, which grew out of an earlier effort funded by the Bechtel Initiative for Global Growth and Change (BIGCC), is exploring the factors that explain the patterns in IPP investment, and the legal and institutional mechanisms that could make the IPP mode of investment more sustainable. The study follows an earlier research project that examined the political economy of power sector reform in five key developing countries. That study showed that IPPs are a key part of the reform experience and suggested a need to probe the factors that affect IPP outcomes.

We completed the study in October 2005. You can download the near final report here, and additional final publications will appear in the coming year.

Research Contact: Erik Woodhouse, Rose Kontak

General Results from the Study

The Obsolescing Bargain Redux: Foreign Investment in the Electric Power Sector in Developing Countries Erik Woodhouse, 38 N.Y.U. Journal of International Law and Politics 121 (2005-06)

A Political Economy of International Infrastructure Contracting: Lessons from the IPP Experience (2005) Erik Woodhouse

IPP Study Case Selection and Project Outcomes: An Additional Note (2006) Erik Woodhouse

For previous versions of these reports, for archival purposes only download:

The Experience of Independent Power Producers in Developing Countries: Summary Report (2005) Erik Woodhouse. Presented June 2, 2005.

The Experience with Independent Power Projects in Developing Countries: Interim Report (2005) Erik Woodhouse. Presented January 22, 2005.

Events

PESD Workshop, "The Experience of Independent Power Projects in Developing Countries," Stanford University, June 2-3, 2005.

Country Studies

 

Generating Power and Controversy: Understanding Tanzania's IPPs (2006) Katharine Gratwick, Rebecca Ghanadan, and Anton Eberhard

The IPP Experience in the Brazilian Electricity Market (2005) Adilson de Oliveira, et al.

Private Power Production in Mexico: A Country Study (2005) Alejandra Núñez-Luna

The IPP Experience in the Philippines (2005) Erik Woodhouse

Independent Power Producers in Thailand (2005) Pei Yee Woo

The Egyptian IPP Experience (2005) Anton Eberhard, Katherine Gratwick

The Kenyan IPP Experience (2005) Anton Eberhard, Katherine Gratwick

The Indian Electricity Market: Country Study and Investment Context (2005) Peter Lamb

The IPP Investment Experience in Argentina (2005) Alejandra Núñez-Luna, Erik Woodhouse

China's Electric Power Market: The Rise and Fall of IPPs (2005) Pei Yee Woo

The IPP Investment Experience in Malaysia (2005) Jeff Rector

The Polish Electricity Market Investment Context (2004) Joshua C. House

IPP Investment in Turkey's Electric Power Industry (2004) Efe Cakarel, Joshua C. House

Background and Methodology

The Experience with Independent Power Projects in Developing Countries: Introduction and Case Study Methods (2004) David G. Victor, Thomas Heller, Joshua House and Pei Yee Woo.

Brief Research Prospectus ( 28.06 KB ) (2005) David G. Victor, et al.