Privatization 
Recent Research and Commentary
Firefighters Unions Holding Taxpayers Hostage in Nevada
July 3, 2009, 12:33pmThe Nevada Policy Research Institute is ruffling some firefighter union feathers in that state by daring to suggest that taxpayers may be being held hostage by fat and bloated contracts and union demands for ever-increasing pay.
State Budget Woes Worsen
July 2, 2009, 11:57pmFiscal year 2010 is already off to an inauspicious start, and it appears that things may get worse before they get better.
"Perfect Storm" Could Accelerate Privatization Trends
MuniNet Guide Interview with Reason's Leonard Gilroy
October 24, 2008Is privatization looming as large in other parts of the country? Could the increasing trend to form public-private partnerships gain momentum in light of this country’s economic downturn? Reason's Leonard Gilroy says the answer to both of those questions is "yes." In the interview that follows, he shares his many insights on privatization, and why we’re likely to see more of it.
Privatization Can Transform the Delivery of State Psychiatric Services
Innovative policymakers increasingly turning to privatization to dramatically improve the quality of mental health services while holding down costs
December 29, 2008At a time when it's more critical than ever to do more with less, Virginia policymakers need to ask a critical question: does the obligation to deliver high-quality psychiatric services necessarily require the Commonwealth to be in the business of running hospitals, or could it achieve better outcomes at a lower cost through contracting for performance with experienced private sector operators? The experience in Florida and elsewhere strongly suggests the latter approach may be the best answer in Virginia.
Annual Privatization Report 2008
Reason Foundation's 22nd annual analysis of privatization and outsourcing
August 1, 2008
Privatization remains a key policy focus as public officials grapple with deteriorating fiscal conditions, according to Reason Foundation's Annual Privatization Report 2008. With as many as 23 states potentially facing budget deficits in fiscal 2009, state governments are increasingly looking for ways to cut costs without cutting services. Enter the private sector.
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- The Nonviolent Offender Rehabilitation Act: Prison Overcrowding, Parole and Sentencing Reform (Proposition 5)
Policy Brief 74
Skaidra Smith-Heisters
October 1, 2008 - Drowning in Debt: Bond Measures Threaten California's Already Precarious Debt Situation
Policy Brief 73
Adam Summers and Anthony Randazzo
October 1, 2008 - CSI for Real: How to Improve Forensic Science
Policy Study 364
Roger Koppl
December 1, 2007 - Streamlining San Diego
Achieving Taxpayer Savings and Government Reforms Through Managed Competition
Geoffrey Segal, Adam Summers, Leonard Gilroy and W. Erik Bruvold
September 1, 2007 - Privatizing University Housing
Leonard Gilroy, Laura J. Davis, Sarah F. Anzia and Geoffrey Segal
January 1, 2007 - Undermining the Future
Problems with November's Bond Initiatives, and Alternatives
Adrian Moore, George Passantino and Adam Summers
September 1, 2006 - Detailing Foreign Management of US Infrastructure
Leonard Gilroy and Adam Summers
March 1, 2006 - Privatizing Public Hospitals
A Win-Win for Taxpayers and the Poor
Francois Melese
November 1, 2005 - Driving More Money into the Classroom
The Promise of Shared Services
William D. Eggers, Lisa Snell, Robert Wavra and Adrian Moore
October 1, 2005 - Rebuilding After Katrina
Policy Strategies for Recovery
Adrian Moore, Lisa Snell and Geoffrey Segal
October 1, 2005 - The Sky Isn't Falling in Colorado
Proven Strategies for Budget
Geoffrey Segal and Adam Summers
October 1, 2005 - The Gathering Pension Storm
How Government Pension Plans are Breaking the Bank and Strategies for Reform
George Passantino and Adam Summers
June 16, 2005 - Should States Sell Their Toll Roads?
Peter Samuel
June 1, 2005 - Offshoring and Public Fear
Assessing the Real Threat to Jobs
Ted Balaker and Adrian Moore
May 1, 2005 - Funding the National Park System
Improving Services and Accountability with User Fees
Adam Summers
April 1, 2005 - Making Florida's Government Competitive
Geoffrey Segal
April 1, 2005 - How to Tackle Some of LA's Problems
March 2, 2005 - Virginia Spending and Budget Reform
Geoffrey Segal
February 1, 2005 - Priority Colorado
Balancing the Budget While Preserving TABOR and Colorado's
Geoffrey Segal, George Passantino, Adam Summers, Lisa Snell and Tarren R. Bragdon
February 1, 2005 - Conservation Through Private Initiative
Harnessing American Ingenuity to Preserve Our Nation's Resources
Michael De Alessi
January 1, 2005 - What's in the Government's Attic?
John Palatiello
December 1, 2004 - Exposing the Myths and Realities of Competitive Sourcing
Geoffrey Segal, Ade Ifelayo and Chandra Pesheck
August 1, 2004 - San Diego Citizens' Budget Plan
June 1, 2004 - Private Competition for Public Services
Unfinished Agenda in New York
E.J. McMahon, Adrian Moore and Geoffrey Segal
December 1, 2003 - Getting the Right People for the Right Job
Solving Human Capital Challenges with Competitive Sourcing
Geoffrey Segal, Adrian Moore and John P. Blair
September 1, 2003 - Movin' Juice
Making Electricity Transmission More Competitive
Lynne Kiesling and Adrian Moore
September 1, 2003 - Frequently Asked Questions About Water / Wastewater Privatization
Geoffrey Segal and Adrian Moore
September 1, 2003 - Roadmap to Reform for California
George Passantino, Carl DeMaio, Kathleen Connell, Matt Fong, Bill Jones, Bill Baker and Lucy Killea
August 1, 2003 - Emergency Medical Services Privatization
Frequently Asked Questions
Ted Balaker and Adam Summers
August 1, 2003 - Revisiting the Public Interest in Private Water
Alexei Tsybine and Don S. Evans
May 1, 2003 - Citizens' Budget
How to Balance CA Budget without Tax Increases
Carl DeMaio, Adrian Moore, Adam Summers, Geoffrey Segal, Lisa Snell, Vincent Badolato and George Passantino
April 1, 2003 - Why an Air Traffic Control Corporation Makes Sense
Robert Poole
March 1, 2003 - Contracting for Road and Highway Maintenance
Geoffrey Segal, Adrian Moore and Samuel McCarthy
March 1, 2003 - The Extent, History, and Role of Private Companies in the Delivery of Correctional Services in the United States
Geoffrey Segal
November 1, 2002 - Corporate Corrections? Frequently Asked Questions About Prison Privatization
Geoffrey Segal
November 1, 2002 - The Salinas Utility Users Tax
Necessary Revenue Source or Government Waste?
Geoffrey Segal and Adam Summers
October 1, 2002 - Designing a Performance-based Competitive Sourcing Process for the Federal Government
37 Proposed Changes to Regulations and Approaches to Competing and Outsourcing Commercial Activities in Government
Carl DeMaio, Adrian Moore and Vincent Badolato
October 1, 2002 - How to Navigate the Politics of Privatization
Robin A. Johnson
July 1, 2002 - Long-term Contracting for Water and Wastewater Services
Robin A. Johnson, John McCormally and Adrian Moore
May 1, 2002 - Citizen's Budget Reports
Improving Performance and Accountability in Government
Geoffrey Segal and Adam Summers
March 1, 2002 - California Competitive Cities
A Report Card on Efficiency in Service Delivery in California's 10 Largest Cities
Geoffrey Segal, Adrian Moore and James Nolan
February 1, 2002 - Weighing the Watchmen: Evaluating the Costs and Benefits of Outsourcing Correctional Services
Part 1: Employing a Best Value Approach to Procurement
Adrian Moore and Geoffrey Segal
January 1, 2002 - Weighing the Watchmen
Evaluating the Costs and Benefits of Outsourcing Correctional Services Part 2: Reviewing the Literature on Cost and Quality Comparisons
Geoffrey Segal and Adrian Moore
January 1, 2002 - The Future of Local Emergency Medical Service: Ambulance Wars or Public-Private Truce?
Policy Update 18
Robin A. Johnson
August 1, 2001 - Opening the Floodgates
Why Water Privatization Will Continue
Robin A. Johnson and Adrian Moore
August 1, 2001 - Competitive Cities
A Report Card on Efficiency in Service Delivery in America's Largest Cities
Adrian Moore, James Nolan and Geoffrey Segal
April 1, 2001 - Innovative Alternatives to Traditional Municipal/County Corrections
E-Brief 113
Geoffrey Segal
March 1, 2001 - Privatization and Layoffs
The Real Story
Robin A. Johnson
March 1, 2001 - How to Commercialize Air Traffic Control
Robert Poole
February 1, 2001 - Managing for Results at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
A Report to the 43rd President and 107th Congress
Carl DeMaio
February 1, 2001 - Electronic Procurement
How Technology is Changing Government Purchasing
Geoffrey Segal and Matthew D. Taylor
February 1, 2001 - Managing for Performance at the EPA
Carl DeMaio
January 1, 2001 - Emerging Options for Youthful Offenders
Utilizing Public-Private Partnerships to Offer Hope, New Direction for Troubled Youth
Geoffrey Segal
December 1, 2000 - Child-Welfare Reform and the Role of Privatization
Lisa Snell
October 1, 2000 - Infrastructure Outsourcing
Leveraging Concrete, Steel, and Asphalt with Public-Private Partnerships
Adrian Moore, Geoffrey Segal and John McCormally
September 1, 2000 - Privatizing Landfills
Market Solutions for Solid-waste Disposal
Geoffrey Segal and Adrian Moore
May 1, 2000 - More Airline Competition
Yet Another Reason for Airport Privatization
Robert Poole
December 1, 1999 - Muni Power Grabs
Municipal Utilities, Tax-exempt Debt, and the Competitive Market
Adrian Moore and Jeff Woerner
November 1, 1999 - Getting Greens in the Black
Golf course Privatization Trends and Practices
Lisa Snell
August 1, 1999 - Reforming Financial Management in the Public Sector
Lessons U.S. Officials Can Learn From New Zealand
Ian Ball
May 1, 1999 - Passenger-Friendly Airports
Another Reason for Airport Privatization
Sheesh Advani
March 1, 1999 - Blueprint for the Privatization of Child Welfare Services
Conna Craig, Ted Kulik, Tim James and Shamim Nielsen
December 1, 1998 - Private Prisons
Quality Corrections at a Lower Cost
Adrian Moore
April 1, 1998 - Privatizing Public Hospitals
Strategic Options in an Era of Industry-Wide Consolidation
Richard Tradewell
April 1, 1998 - Competitive Neutrality
Ensuring a Level Playing Field in Managed Competitions
William D. Eggers
March 1, 1998 - Regulatory Reform at the Local Level
Regulating for Competition, Opportunity, and Prosperity
Adrian Moore and Tom Rose
February 1, 1998 - Commercializing the Global Positioning System
Albert Blackburn
July 1, 1997 - Performance Based Contracting
Designing State of the Art Contract Administration and Monitoring Systems
William D. Eggers
May 1, 1997 - Using Contractors to Cook, Clean, and Drive the Bus
Janet R. Beales
December 1, 1996 - Privatizing Federal Research and Development Laboratories
Joseph P. Martino
November 1, 1996 - Delivering Services for the Mentally Ill and Developmentally Disabled
A Consumer Choice Model
Richard H. Dougherty and William D. Eggers
October 1, 1996 - Airport Privatization Pilot Program
Robert Poole
September 1, 1996 - Spectrum Privatization
Removing the Barriers to Telecommunications Competition
David Colton
July 1, 1996 - A Guide For Divesting Government-Owned Enterprises
Henry Gibbons
July 1, 1996 - Community Law Enforcement
The Success of San Diego's Volunteer Policing Program
Kathy Kessler and Julie Wartell
May 1, 1996 - Federal Power
The Case for Privatizing Electricity
Douglas Houston
March 1, 1996 - Restructuring America's Water Industry
Comparing Investor Owned and Government Water Systems
Kathy Neal, Patrick J. Maloney, Jonas A. Marson and Tamer E. Francis
January 1, 1996 - Privatizing Emergency Medical Service
How Cities Can Cut Costs and Save Lives
Robert Poole
November 1, 1995 - A Guide for Divesting Government Owned Enterprises
Henry Gibbons
August 1, 1995 - How to Privatize Orange County's Airports
Robert Poole
August 1, 1995 - Revitalizing State and Local Infrastructure
Empowering Cities and States to Tap Private Capital and Rebuild America
Robert Poole
May 1, 1995 - Rescuing Orange County
Robert Poole
May 1, 1995 - Revitalizing Our Cities
Perspectives from America's New Breed of Mayors
William D. Eggers
March 1, 1995 - Competitive Government for a Competitive Los Angeles
William D. Eggers
November 1, 1994 - Teacher, Inc.
A Private Practice Option for Educators
Janet R. Beales
October 1, 1994 - Guidelines for Airport Privatization
Robert Poole
October 1, 1994 - Public Authorities and Private Firms as Providers of Public Goods
Clayton P. Gillette
September 1, 1994 - Doing More with Less
Competitive Contracting for School Support Services
Janet R. Beales
September 1, 1994 - Privatizing Milwaukee's Airport
Robert Poole
July 1, 1994 - Municipal Wastewater Treatment
Privatization and Compliance
Holly June Stiefel
February 1, 1994 - Intergovernmental Contracting For Public Services
John W. Donlevy, Jr.
February 1, 1994 - Rightsizing Government
Lessons from America's Public Sector Innovators
William D. Eggers
January 1, 1994 - Techniques for Mining the Public Balance Sheet
Roger D. Feldman and Thomas M. Ingoldsby
September 1, 1993 - Privatization and Public Employees
Guidelines For Fair Treatment
John O'Leary and William D. Eggers
September 1, 1993 - How to Spin Off Air Traffic Control
Robert Poole
August 1, 1993 - Comparing Public and Private Bus Transit Services
A Study of the Los Angeles Foothill Transit Zone
John O'Leary
July 1, 1993 - Contracting Water and Wastewater Utility Operations
Roger Hartman
June 1, 1993 - Port Privatization
An International Perspective
David Haarmeyer and Peter Yorke
April 1, 1993 - Privatizing Los Angeles International Airport
Analyzing the Alternatives
Robert Poole
April 1, 1993 - Competitive Contracting of Transit Services
Jean Love and Wendell Cox
March 1, 1993 - How To Compare Costs Between In-House and Contracted Services
Lawrence Martin
March 1, 1993 - Cost Savings from Privatization
A Compilation of Findings
John Hilke
March 1, 1993 - Designing an Effective Bidding and Monitoring System to Minimize Problems in Competitive Contracting
John Rehfuss
February 1, 1993 - Designing a Comprehensive Privatization Program for Cities
John Stainback
February 1, 1993 - Privatization Opportunities for States
William D. Eggers
February 1, 1993 - Rightsizing Government
Lessons From America's Public-Sector Innovators
William D. Eggers
January 1, 1993 - Satellite Schools
The Private Provision of School Infrastructure
Janet R. Beales
January 1, 1993 - Designing a Comprehensive State Level Privatization Program
William D. Eggers
January 1, 1993 - Privatizing Infrastructure
Options for Municipal Water Supply Systems
David Haarmeyer
October 1, 1992 - Fire Protection Privatization: A Cost Effective Approach to Public Safety
Questions and Answers About the Private Sector Fire Service
John R. Guardiano
October 1, 1992 - Expanding Airport Capacity
Getting Privatization Off The Ground
William H. Payson and Steven A. Steckler
June 1, 1992 - Mining the Government Balance Sheet
What Cities and States Have to Sell
Robert Poole, David Haarmeyer and Lynn Scarlett
April 1, 1992 - Toward Accountability and Efficiency
Reform of the Bonneville Power Administration
Kenneth W. Costello and David Haarmeyer
April 1, 1992 - The Public Benefits of Privatizing Logan Airport
Robert Poole
November 1, 1991 - Building a Safer and More Effective Air Traffic Control System
Robert Poole
February 1, 1991 - Airport Privatization
What the Record Shows
Robert Poole
August 1, 1990 - Public vs. Private
Alternative Ownership Scenarios for Electric Utilities
Michael A. Crew and Paul R. Kleindorfer
June 1, 1990 - Selling LaGuardia and Kennedy Airports
Robert Poole
May 1, 1990 - Privatizing Airports
Robert Poole
January 1, 1990 - Privatization of the Tennessee Valley Authority
Douglas Houston
October 1, 1988 - Privatizing the Air Traffic Control System
Robert Poole
November 1, 1986
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