Does government support affect private partners’ profitability in public–private partnerships? Evidence from China

Table 1 The binary structure of the Chinese PPP market.

	Pseudo-project market	Compliant project market
Does the government provide any fixed commitment or bottom-line investment return or duration?	Yes	No
Who bears the most critical risks?	Government	Firm
Who shares the significant benefits from operating and managing projects?	Government	Firm

This table represents the differences between pseudo and compliant PPP contracts. It shows that government support is a crucial principle in deciding whether a project will establish a pay-for-performance mechanism.