Dr Rick Geddes

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2009 Fulbright Senior Scholar

Media profile

“America’s surface transportation system is facing severe challenges at the same time as the cost of system expansion and renovation is increasing. Existing approaches to funding transportation infrastructure are unlikely to generate the necessary investment. New approaches are needed to face these challenges.”

Rick Geddes, currently an Associate Professor at Cornell University, has been awarded a Fulbright Senior Scholarship from the Australian-American Fulbright Commission to carry out economic research for six months at the Australian National University. Rick’s research will focus on two key award mechanisms for contracts, negotiation versus auction.

“A key question in the economics of contracting focuses on a decision all buyers must make: how to best award the contract,” Rick said.

“Examples include the procurement of infrastructure tailored to meet the government’s needs, such as a road, bridge or tunnel. Public policy overwhelmingly favours the use of auctions for public procurement. This preference stems from the view that auctions enhance competition, prevent corruption, and offer equal opportunity among bidders.”

“There are, on the other hand, non-negotiable costs associated with auctions in certain settings, and it may be that for certain projects a negotiation process would be more cost-effective. The negotiation-versus-auction question is critical in contemporary public procurement—the sheer size of public procurement suggests its importance for public policy.”

Rick will examine an area where Australia is a world leader, the public private partnership (PPP) model. PPPs provide a vehicle for private investors to channel capital into critical transportation facilities, including highways, bridges, tunnels, light-rail systems, ports and inter-modal connectors.

His project will examine PPPs through the lens of the award mechanism chosen—negotiation versus auction with a view to contributing to the award-mechanism academic debate, and also to inform transportation policy makers in the U.S.

Rick has a BS from Towson State University in Economics and Finance, an MA from the University of Chicago in Economics, and a PhD from the University of Chicago in Economics. He has won various awards and fellowships such as the Kappa Omicron Nu/Human Ecology Alumni Association Advising award, the Human Ecology Award for outstanding accomplishments in extension in public policy, two Ames Fund for Junior Faculty awards and two Earhart Foundation Grants.

Rick is one of 19 American Fulbright Scholars travelling to Australia in 2009/2010.