Public-Private Competition

Abstract

Privatization, or the transfer of functions from the public sector to the private sector (Salamon, 1989, Poole & Fixler, 1987), also necessarily entails the transfer of jobs from the public sector to the private sector For this reason, the response of public employees and unions to the privatization movement has generally been one of opposition In terms of major responses to privatization, public employees and unions have launched public relations campaigns attacking the philosophical assumptions of privatization, sought legal and other protections prohibiting privatization, and, less frequently, engaged in head-to-head competition with the private sector to retain government service delivery in-house This article looks at the latter response known generically as "public-private competition." The public-private competition practices of selected local governments in the United States are first discussed, followed by a review of the practices of local governments in the United Kingdom and governments in general in the Commonwealth of Australia. The discussion focuses on the competition strategies, personnel policies and organizational structures utilized by governments, public employees and public employee unions when engaging in public-private competition