Privatization of local government services is assumed to deliver cost savings, but empirical
evidence for this from around the world is mixed. We conduct a meta‐regression analysis of …

Cost reduction was the key benefit claimed by privatization. We conduct a review of all
published econometric studies of water and waste production since 1970. Little support is …

Much of the theory and discourse on public bureaucracies treats them negatively, as if they
incline inevitably toward weak performance. This orientation prevails in spite of considerable …

Social impact bonds (SIBs) attract private investment to social programs by paying a market
rate of return if predefined outcome targets are met. SIBs monetize benefits of social …

Abstract Analysis of local government contracting decisions typically focuses on transactions
costs related to service characteristics, especially asset specificity and difficulty of contract …

Empirical evidence shows local government contracting is a dynamic process that includes
movements from public delivery to markets and from market contracts back to in-house …

Capturing the benefits of competition is a key argument for outsourcing public services, yet
public service markets often lack sufficient competition. The authors use survey and …

This paper examines how variations in the notion of public sector consumerism become
embedded in diverse governance practices. To this end, we extend the literature on public …

Local government restructuring should no longer be viewed as a simple dichotomy between
private and public provision. A 1997 survey of chief elected township and county officials in …

The privatization experience of US municipalities shows declining use of complete contracts
and a dramatic rise in mixed public–private delivery (joint contracting) of city services. The …