What Sector Do Consumers Prefer for the Delivery of ‘Public’ Services? A Comparative Analysis of the US and China

Abstract

Although we have literature on the advantages and disadvantages of delivering public services via public, nonprofit, or for-profit organizations, there is little research on who the public prefers to deliver such services. This study uses a least similar systems design to present an exploratory analysis of such preferences in the US and China for twelve different service areas. Based on two internet surveys, we find that general sector preferences for services are similar across the countries, but there are differences in emphasis for some of the individual services that reflect the country’s historical, cultural, and political traditions. The reasons for such similarities, however, appear to be different in the two countries.

Issue Introduction

“…First, in a comparative analysis of the US and China, Meier et al (2022) utilize a least similar systems design to analyze which sector-public, nonprofit, or for-profit-consumers prefer to deliver services in 12 different categories of service provision. Their exploratory analysis based upon two internet surveys reveals that sector preferences for services are more similar than expected across the two countries with the public sector as the most preferred and the forprofit sector as the least preferred service provider.…”