Abstract
This research examines 130 government contracts for legal services, specifically focusing on how decisions to include various accountability clauses are influenced by previous relationships between the government and its private sector contractors. Overall, the findings illustrate that prior positive contract experiences decrease the use of clauses that facilitate disclosure of information but increase the use of contract details. The evidence suggests an important role for relationships in new governance: contracting with familiar contractors may reduce the cost and use of some forms of accountability but not necessarily reduce overall accountability.
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