Panel:
Understanding Privatization Reversals Among Local Governments in the US and Europe
(Public and Non-Profit Management and Finance)
Thursday, November 3, 2016: 3:00 PM-4:30 PM
Holmead East (Washington Hilton)
*Names in bold indicate Presenter
Panel Organizers: Mildred E. Warner, Cornell University
Panel Chairs: Jelani Newton, International City/County Management Association
Discussants: Anna Amirkhanyan, School of Public Affairs; The American University; Department of Public Administration and Policy
Privatization Reversals among Local Governments in the US and Europe
After decades of experimentation with private delivery at the local government level, we are now witnessing reversals as municipalities bring previously contracted work back in house. Know as reverse privatization, re-municipalization or contracting back in, the phenomenon is not unique to the public sector. In the private sector, insourcing, is also common. Can we use the same theories regarding transaction costs, government motivation, and politics to understand this phenomena? Are there differences in incidence and drivers in different sectors, or country contexts? This panel will present the latest research from the US, France, the Netherlands and Spain on the level and factors driving reversals. Researchers from each of these four countries have gathered data over time to capture the dynamics of the contracting process (contracting out and contracting back in). Some of the studies are on water, others on waste, and others on the full range of local government services. Together the papers will give a sense of trends, factors, analysis techniques and implications for public management.
