The product is routinely treated as if it is sold in a spot market, as if all one needs to do is announce the availability of the contract, specify the relevant conditions and terms, and wait for bidders to beat a path to the door. The appealing simplicity of privatization through competitive contracting should be examined in light of experience and in comparison to alternative methods of improving public sector efficiency. A prominent option is the refashioning of labor-management relations, typified by the Indianapolis story. Enhancing efficiency in public service provision may be possible without the participation of business firms. From this standpoint, it ought to be the option of first resort.
Public services can be complex to perform and administer.
While contracting will always have a role to play, experience and analysis, rather than ideology, must be brought to bear to achieve the best balance of public and private participation. These cases analyzed here point up the hazards of premature conclusions as to what is easy to contract out. Problems of accountability and control can be daunting. The findings in this study do not augur well for decisions to expand the scope of contracting to ever-larger and more complex public services.