The Provision of Municipal Sanitation Services by Private Firms: An Empirical Analysis of the Efficiency of Alternative Market Structures and Regulatory Arrangements

Abstract

CONCERN about productivity in local government is encouraging city officials to look closely at private market alternatives to the direct provision of municipal services by local government. One important issue concerns the question of which are the most efficient market structures and regulatory arrangements for the provision of such services. There is presently little hard evidence available to guide city officials.1 The present study seeks to remedy this deficiency by empirically analyzing the alternative market structures and regulatory arrangements used in 77 cities in the United States for the provision of residential refuse collection service by private firms. Refuse collection services constitute an important municipal expenditure. In the fiscal year I975-76 all municipal governments in the