Public/Private Joint Service Delivery in American Counties: Institutional Theory of Local Governance and Government Capacity

Abstract

The question of who should provide public services has continued to gain attention among scholars and practitioners. Existing studies on public service delivery have primarily focused on the `make' or `buy' decision, resulting in their lack of knowledge in public/private joint service delivery, especially at the county level. This study fills the research lacuna by incorporating the institutional theory of local governance and government capacity. Using the 2002 ICMA Survey on Local Governments' Alternative Service Delivery, this study examines what factors account for the adoption of public/private joint service delivery in American counties. Probit analysis is employed to estimate county choice of joint service delivery in 2002. Overall, the findings suggest that the reformed political structure has a modest influence on joint service delivery. The findings also suggest that government capacity has negative influence on joint service delivery.