@inbook{18c873d0d04743e9a27d5404a145867c,
title = "Reforming local service delivery by contracting out?: Evaluating the experience of Danish road and park services",
abstract = "The use of privatisation and contracting out has constituted a major reform trend in local public service delivery for decades. This chapter evaluates whether there is evidence that contracting out has resulted in improved cost efficiency as argued by reform advocates. The empirical focus is delimited to local road and park services in Danish municipalities, which is an appropriate empirical setting for evaluating the reform outcomes due to the widespread and long-term use of private providers. The main finding is that contracting out has resulted in significant cost reductions. However, the effects are rather heterogeneous across various municipalities and the evidence suggests declining economic effects over time. We conclude that contracting out as a local service delivery reform seems to have “got rusty” over time.",
keywords = "Danish Municipalities, Local Public Service Delivery, Local Road Maintenance, Park Service, Reform Outcomes",
author = "Kurt Houlberg and Petersen, {Ole Helby}",
year = "2017",
doi = "10.1007/978-3-319-61091-7_9",
language = "English",
isbn = "978-3-319-61090-0",
series = "Governance and Public Management",
publisher = "Palgrave Macmillan",
pages = "133--149",
editor = "Ivan Kopric and Hellmut Wollmann and Gerard Marcou",
booktitle = "Evaluating Reforms of Local Public and Social Services in Europe",
}