What techniques can the government use to minimize the opportunity for buying in?

The government can utilize multiyear contracting, priced options, and amortization of nonrecurring costs as effective techniques to minimize the opportunity for buying in.

Multiyear contracting helps to ensure commitment from contractors over a longer period, making it less appealing for them to submit artificially low bids to win a contract if they know they will be held financially accountable over multiple years. This approach encourages more realistic pricing and sustainable business practices.

Priced options allow the government to secure future purchasing rights at predetermined prices, which not only hedges against market fluctuations but also discourages bidders from significantly underbidding in the first contract phase, since they can be held to their pricing in subsequent years.

Amortization of nonrecurring costs involves spreading out the costs of initial investments over the life of the contract. By incorporating these costs into pricing over time, it decreases the likelihood of lowball bids since contractors must consider the long-term financial implications of their pricing strategies.

In contrast, simply reducing the number of bidders may actually increase risk in the competition by limiting options and could result in less competitive pricing. Increasing the contract price does not address the underlying behavior related to buying in, and implementing stricter performance bonds, while helpful in other scenarios, does not directly affect