Pragmatic Municipalism: Privatization and Remunicipalisation in the US

Figures & data

Table 1. US Local Government Motivations for Contracting Back In.

	2017
Service quality was not satisfactory	54%
Insufficient cost savings	46%
Local government efficiency improved	34%
Successful proposal by in-house staff	22%
Strong political support to bring back service delivery	21%
Lack of competitive private bidders	13%
Problems monitoring the contract	12%
Problems with the contract specifications	7%

Source: ICMA Alternative Service Delivery survey, 2017. N = 329 US municipalities and counties.

Figure 1. Methodology for Measuring Contracting Dynamics.

Based on Hefetz and Warner (2004)

Figure 2. Contracting Dynamics, US Local Governments, 2012-17.

Source: Author Analysis of paired ICMA surveys 2012 and 2017.

Hefetz, A., and M. E. Warner. 2004. “Privatization and Its Reverse: Explaining the Dynamics of the Government Contracting Process.” Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory 14 (2): 171–190. doi:10.1093/jopart/muh012.

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