Exploring the Relationship Between Privatization in Public Service Delivery and Coproduction: Evidence from U.S. Local Governments

• Published date: 01 July 2023
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/02750740231155410
• Author: Yuan (Daniel) Cheng,Jeffrey L. Brudney,Lucas Meijs
• Date: 01 July 2023
• Subject Matter: Articles

Exploring the Relationship Between

Privatization in Public Service Delivery

and Coproduction: Evidence from U.S.

Local Governments

Yuan (Daniel) Cheng

1

, Jeffrey L. Brudney

2,†

and Lucas Meijs

3

Abstract

Since the New Public Management Movement, privatization has become a popular approach for delivering public services.

However, few studies empirically assess the relationship between privatization of public service deliver y and citizen partici-

pation in coproduction. Taking advantage of a national survey of U.S. local government chief administrators, this study aims

to contribute to the literature by exploring the link between these two important mechanisms of public service provision.

Our f‌indings indicate that local governments are more likely to involve citizens in coproduction when a larger proportion

of service delivery is privatized. Regarding various types of coproduction, privatization in public service delivery is positively

associated with the likelihood of citizen involvement in co-planning, co-design, and co-assessment, but not in co-delivery.

Finally, compared to for-prof‌it service providers, involving nonprof‌it organizations in public service delivery is likely to create

more opportunities for citizens to be involved in the coproduction of public services.

Keywords

coproduction, privatization, public service delivery, local government

Introduction

Since the advent of the New Public Management Movement,

privatization has become a prevalent approach for govern-

ments at all levels to deliver public services around the

world (Hefetz & Warner, 2004; Jing & Chen, 2012;

Osborne & Gaebler, 1992). Privatization of public service

delivery is particularly appealing as local governments seek

solutions for mounting f‌iscal pressure. Because of its impor-

tance for public management, ample studies examine the

cost-effectiveness, performance, and eff‌iciency of privatiza-

tion, or different forms of privatization such as contracting,

public-private partnerships, and divestment initiatives

(Fernandez, 2009; Amirkhanyan, 2008; Bel et al., 2010).

However, few studies have been conducted to understand

the relationship between privatization and citizen coproduc-

tion of public services (Brudney, 1987; McMullin, 2021).

Amirkhanyan & Lambright’s (2017) recent book, Citizen

Participation in The Age of Contracting: When Service

Delivery Trumps Democracy, provides a detailed examina-

tion of this topic based on interviews with public and non-

prof‌it managers. Yet to appear in the literature, though, is a

large sample(s), nationally based examination of how privat-

ization in public service delivery is associated with local gov-

ernment efforts in involving citizens in the coproduction of

public services. As privatization and coproduction are often

separately associated with New Public Management and

New Public Governance (Thomas, 2013), scholars tend to

treat them as incompatible public governance tools and over-

look their constant interplay in everyday public management

practices.

Taking advantage of two waves of a nationwide International

City/County Management Association (ICMA) Alternative

Service Delivery (ASD) survey administered to city and

county governments in the United States in 2012 and 2017,

The present study aims to f‌ill this gap in our knowledge by

addressing the following questions: Does privatization in

public service delivery promote or hinder different types of

1

University of Minnesota Twin Cities, Minneapolis, MN, USA

2

University of North Carolina Wilmington, Wilmington, NC, USA

3

Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam, Rotterdam, Zuid-Holland, the

Netherlands

†

Deceased.

Corresponding Author:

Yuan (Daniel) Cheng, Humphrey School of Public Affairs, University of

Minnesota Twin Cities, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA.

Email: cheng838@umn.edu

Article

American Review of Public Administration

2023, Vol. 53(5-6) 195–208

© The Author(s) 2023

Article reuse guidelines:

sagepub.com/journals-permissions

DOI: 10.1177/02750740231155410

journals.sagepub.com/home/arp