EVOLUTION OF PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS AND NEW TRENDS

Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) are long-term contractual arrangements where the private sector assumes responsibility for financing and operating public services while the public sector retains a regulatory role. This study aims to fill a gap in the literature by examining the historical evolution of PPPs from the 17th century to the present, focusing on their transformation through global crises and emerging trends. While partnerships were interrupted by world wars and the Great Depression, they resurged in their modern form in the 1990s. However, a fundamental structural shift occurred with the 2008 Global Financial Crisis, which necessitated a reconstruction of risk allocation and financing models. Subsequently, environmental crises integrated "sustainability" principles into contracts, while the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the critical importance of insurance mechanisms against unforeseen risks. Finally, rapid technological advancements have given rise to R&D-focused, multi-stakeholder "hybrid partnerships," representing the latest evolutionary stage. The study highlights that this phase involves increasing complexity and heterogeneous applications across different countries, which pose significant regulatory challenges and potential systemic risks to the long-term viability of the PPP model.