What can be a consequence of bid rigging?

Bid rigging leads to manipulated pricing, which distorts the competitive bidding process. When contractors collude to set prices rather than allowing them to be determined by market forces, the outcome is often inflated costs for the project. This unfair pricing not only affects the government or entity awarding the contract but also has broader implications for taxpayers, affecting how public funds are utilized. By circumventing fair competition, bid rigging undermines the integrity of the contracting process and can lead to subpar project outcomes, as the contractors involved may not have the incentive to deliver quality work or value.

In contrast, increased competition among contractors typically results in better pricing and quality, while greater oversight from regulatory bodies is often a response to detect such illegal practices, not a result of them. More accurate project cost estimations would arise from transparent, competitive bidding rather than manipulated processes. Therefore, the recognized consequence of bid rigging aligns with the idea of pricing manipulation leading to unfair project outcomes.