New at Reason: What, How, & Why to Privatize City Services

March 16, 2010

Writes Len Gilroy, director of government reform at Reason Foundation:

Over the last half century, governments of all political complexions have increasingly embraced privatization-shifting some or all aspects of service delivery to the private sector. This is a strategy to lower the costs of government and achieve higher performance and better outcomes for tax dollars spent. Local policymakers in many jurisdictions in the U.S. and around the world have used privatization to better the lives of citizens by offering them higher quality services at lower costs, delivering greater choice and more efficient, effective government.

The reason for the widespread appeal of privatization is simple: It works. Decades of successful privatization policies have proven that private sector innovation and initiative can do certain things better than the public sector.

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