As procurement reform has been traditionally seen as a technical and administrative process, there are very few studies focusing on its political economy dimension. With regard to procurement, political economy issues have been implicitly addressed as part of studies looking at public sector or governance reform more broadly. Yet, as procurement reform often meets major resistance from vested interests within society there is a growing recognition of the need to understand and address the underlying factors that may undermine political will for reform and more systematically analyse the effects of political incentives on the feasibility and sustainability of such reforms.