An analysis of residential sanitation collection pricing under alternative delivery arrangements

Brooks, Richard C.

doi:10.1108/jpbafm-07-04-1995-b002

Cited by 6 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…While market failure is the rationale for government involvement in delivering these services, public choice theorists focus on the failure of large-scale government and challenge any proposals favoring the expanded role of government. While several lines of argument are advanced, the central theme that ties them together is the lack ofcompetition (Rehfuss;Miranda 1994aMiranda ,1994bBrooks 1996).The lack of discipline imposed by market forces provides an environment where inefficiencies can flourish. As noted by Stiglitz (1988) and others, lack of competition allows government officials and bureaucrats to operate under the guise of organizational and personal incentives as opposed to those of the general citizenry.…”

Section: The Case For Privatizationmentioning

confidence: 98%

Local Government Structure, Devolution, and Privatization

Deller

1998

Review of Agricultural Economics

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The rules of the game have changed for rural local governments. The explicit policy of devolution has placed greater responsibility on the door step of local governments at a time when the intensity in the cry for tax reductions has increased. The trade-off between greater local responsibility and the risk of higher costs due to scale and managerial inefficiencies has renewed the debate over local options. One policy option that is receiving significant attention is privatization, or the contracting with private companies to produce or supply the government service. A critical review of our current thinking is reported in this article. Specific attention is paid to alternative local government structures, the experiences governments have had with privatization, and the unique problems rural governments face when considering privatization. In the end, privatization may not be a viable option for smaller rural governments where cooperative arrangements to jointly supply the service across local jurisdictional boundaries presents meaningful opportunities.B oth rural and urban government officials, faced with increased local resistance to higher taxes, increasing expenditure needs, weakening financial support from higher levels of government, and the growing pressure to "do more with less," have accelerated their search for alternative ways of delivering local public services. Coupled with the general conservative shift at the federal level, the need to maintain a balanced budget at the local level, and the trend in the private sector to become "leaner and meaner" as a means to increase earnings and profits, has brought the downsizing of government at all levels to the forefront of public discussion.At the same time, many local public officials are faced with rising costs to maintain an aging infrastructure, accommodating the needs of special populations, satisfying rules and regulations imposed by higher levels of government, and funding new investments, to meet the demands of a growing economy in some instances, or to maintain critical services in the face declining economies. While many herald the • Steven C. Deller isassociate professor andcommunitydevelopment specialist,

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Section: The Case For Privatizationmentioning

confidence: 98%

Local Government Structure, Devolution, and Privatization

Deller

1998

Review of Agricultural Economics

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“…One line of research empirically investigates the motivations and determinants of privatization decisions in different kinds of public services (Curry, 2010;Ferris, 1986;Levine, 2010;LaFaive, 2007). A second line of research examines the effects of privatization on public service delivery (Levin and McEwan, 2002;McGuire and Van Cott, 1984;Brooks, 1995).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition, cities are less likely to privatize when they have a strong labor union and sound fiscal health. Brooks (1995) examine why some cities contract out solid waste collection, whereas others maintain internal operations. They find that municipalities are more likely to turn to privatization when the local tax burden increases, multiple alternative service producers exist, and citizen's demand for service increases.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Contracting school meals in a rural Florida district

Traynor

Chen

Kitterlin

2019

IHR

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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the decision to contract school meal services and the associated nutritional and financial impacts on school districts. Given the increase in the use of competitive contracting of public school meal services and the critical role that school meal services play in public health, this is an important subject to investigate. Design/methodology/approach A case study was performed using one US school district with privatized food service. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with school food service decision makers. Other data collection included the analysis of public documents such as the school district’s budgets and financial statement reports (the cost per lunch and breakfast meals, the cost for labor, contract, transport, supplies and food expenses) and school food service policies (contract policies). Supplementary data pertaining to district social-demographic profiles and full-time equivalent enrollment figures were also collected from state departments. Findings Analysis of interviews revealed that positive financial motivations and impacts were dominant factors related to contracting food services in the district. A significant finding was the relatively short turnaround in the district’s negative financial situation as a result of contracting out the food services. These findings provide valuable insight and support for rural school districts in similar negative financial situations seeking to contract out food services. Originality/value Many studies have examined contracting out of technical services, such as transport and waste management, and social services, such as correctional services and health; however, there is a lack of studies documenting the effects of contracting out of school meal services.

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“…Privatization research can be categorized into two major areas of investigation. One line of research compares the cost of private sector service delivery to the cost of public sector service delivery (e.g., Kitchen, 1976;McGuire & Van Cott, 1984;Brooks, 1996). A second area of research utilizes the tools of economics to investigate the determinants of privatization decisions (e.g., McGuire, Ohsfeldt & Van Cott, 1987;Brooks, Apostolou & Apostolou, 1994).…”

Section: Review Of the Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Kitchen (1992) attributes the difference to lower hourly wages, and greater vehicle use in private sector production. Brooks (1996) finds that private sector production of residential solid waste collection is less costly than public sector production. In addition, he finds that the pricing behavior of private sector firms is consistent with pricing in a competitive market, whereas the pricing behavior in the public sector is consistent with pricing by a monopoly producer.…”

Section: Refuse Collectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Privatization of government services: an overview and review of the literature

Brooks

2004

Journal of Public Budgeting, Accounting &Amp; Financial Management

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Privatization continues to receive serious consideration at the federal, state, and local government levels. The most frequent reason cited for privatizing services is to reduce the size and cost of government. While many government entities have privatized services, it is often up to academic researchers to determine if the goals of privatization have been realized and to shed light on the organizational and service characteristics that make it more likely that the results of privatizing a particular service will be positive. This paper seeks to provide a background to those researchers interested in examining the privatization of government services. The paper reviews and synthesizes prior privatization research and discusses future research directions.

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An analysis of residential sanitation collection pricing under alternative delivery arrangements

Cited by 6 publications

References 14 publications

Local Government Structure, Devolution, and Privatization

Local Government Structure, Devolution, and Privatization

Contracting school meals in a rural Florida district

Privatization of government services: an overview and review of the literature

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