Public Sector Privatization: Alternative Approaches to Service Delivery

by Lawrence K. Finley

Overview

When government services are turbaned over to profit-making corporations will a gentler, kinder America result? Significantly, when the issue of privatization of government arises, this question usually takes a back seat to the more narrowly focused one of: can the taxpayer pay less for the same service without diminishing existing quality? . . . This book compiles experiences of practitioners and corporations with generally positive experiences in contracting for services between public and private entities. The essays by professors raise serious questions that all societies will face in creating an appropriate mix so that their citizens enjoy gentler, kinder lives. Growth and Change

For many cities and states faced with reductions in federal revenue sharing and little political support for increased taxes, privatization of the public sector seems the only viable alternative. In an effort to maintain existing service levels with decreased funds, many governments have turbaned to alternative service delivery approaches through such mechanisms as contracting, franchises, subsidies, and voucher plans. In this volume, Finley and a distinguished group of contributors from city governments, corporations, and universities, offer a comprehensive overview of privatization in practice. Their papers address privatization in a number of areas including transportation, fire protection, health care, and environmental services as well as the legal aspects of privatization. An especially stimulating chapter describes major European efforts at privatization.

Divided into three major sections, the book begins with introductory chapters that examine the dimensions of public services, evaluate recent changes in the public-private mix, and explore alternative delivery methods. Part Two focuses on alternate services experiences of governments and companies, including topics on environmental infrastructure alternatives, alternative means of highway development, private fire contractor operations, and alternative health care delivery. The final section addresses both constraints to privatization and the opportunities presented by various alternative delivery mechanisms. Here the contributors address the legal liabilities of governments involved in contracting out, the financial responsibilities of the contracting entities, and government financing of facilities through bonds. A chapter by the editor recommends a process by which business persons can begin to successfully compete tith public deliverers, while the final chapter offers new insights into the ways in which various European countries have handled the issue of privatization. Policymakers and public sector executives will find these essays enlightening and provocative.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780899303307
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	09/26/1989
Pages:	198
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

LAWRENCE K. FINLEY is Associate Professor of Management and Marketing at Western Kentucky University. He received his Ph.D. from Ohio State in Administrative Sciences and is the author of the forthcoming book Entrepreneurial Strategies.

Table of Contents

Preface
Issues in Alternative Service Delivery
Alternative Service Delivery, Privatization, and Competition
Alternative Service Delivery Approaches and City Service Planning
Alternative Delivery of Services in Rochester, New York
Florence, Kentucky, Adapts to Growth
Experiences of Alternative Deliverers
Business Perspective—Environmental Infrastructure
Privatization of Transportation Services
Privatization of Fire Protection and Beyond by Rural/Metro
American Health Care and the Economics of Change
Humana, Inc.—A Business Perspective on Health Care
Constraints and Opportunities
Legal Considerations in Privatization and the Role of Legal Counsel
Introducing Entrepreneurial Competition into Public Service Delivery
Privatization in Europe
Index