Is contracting out of public services still the great panacea? A systematic review of studies on economic and quality effects from 2000-2014

Publikation: Bidrag til tidsskriftTidsskriftartikelForskningfagfællebedømt

Standard

Is contracting out of public services still the great panacea? A systematic review of studies on economic and quality effects from 2000-2014. / Petersen, Ole Helby; Hjelmar, Ulf; Vrangbæk, Karsten.

I: Social Policy and Administration, Bind 52, Nr. 1, 7, 01.2018, s. 130-157.

Publikation: Bidrag til tidsskriftTidsskriftartikelForskningfagfællebedømt

Harvard

Petersen, OH, Hjelmar, U & Vrangbæk, K 2018, 'Is contracting out of public services still the great panacea? A systematic review of studies on economic and quality effects from 2000-2014', Social Policy and Administration, bind 52, nr. 1, 7, s. 130-157. https://doi.org/10.1111/spol.12297

APA

Petersen, O. H., Hjelmar, U., & Vrangbæk, K. (2018). Is contracting out of public services still the great panacea? A systematic review of studies on economic and quality effects from 2000-2014. Social Policy and Administration, 52(1), 130-157. [7]. https://doi.org/10.1111/spol.12297

Vancouver

Petersen OH, Hjelmar U, Vrangbæk K. Is contracting out of public services still the great panacea? A systematic review of studies on economic and quality effects from 2000-2014. Social Policy and Administration. 2018 jan.;52(1):130-157. 7. https://doi.org/10.1111/spol.12297

Author

Petersen, Ole Helby ; Hjelmar, Ulf ; Vrangbæk, Karsten. / Is contracting out of public services still the great panacea? A systematic review of studies on economic and quality effects from 2000-2014. I: Social Policy and Administration. 2018 ; Bind 52, Nr. 1. s. 130-157.

Bibtex

@article{e63ac2bed9044bc3bb6d7b78e9f9fc52,
title = "Is contracting out of public services still the great panacea?: A systematic review of studies on economic and quality effects from 2000-2014",
abstract = "This article presents the results of a systematic review of international studies on economic and quality effects of contracting out published in the period from 2000 to 2014. We conducted a comprehensive search of the literature and identified 49 relevant studies. There are three main findings of the systematic review: (1) cost savings documented in international contracting out literature have been decreasing over time; (2) cost savings have been much greater in technical services than in social services; and (3) economic effects have been twice as large in Anglo-Saxon countries compared with other countries. With regard to measuring the effect of contracting out on service quality, which is a vital component of any service delivery arrangement, very few studies assess this issue in a comprehensive manner. There is also a significant lack of studies that include measures of transaction costs, thereby making it difficult to evaluate the impact of contracting out on overall cost-effectiveness of public service delivery. We conclude that generalization of effects from contracting out should be made with caution and are likely to depend, among other things, on the transaction costs characteristics of the service, the market situation and the institutional/regulatory setting.",
keywords = "Det Samfundsvidenskabelige Fakultet, Contracting out, costs, evidence, service quality, systematic review, Contracting out, Evidence, Systematic review, COST, service quality",
author = "Petersen, {Ole Helby} and Ulf Hjelmar and Karsten Vrangb{\ae}k",
year = "2018",
month = jan,
doi = "10.1111/spol.12297",
language = "Dansk",
volume = "52",
pages = "130--157",
journal = "Social Policy and Administration",
issn = "0144-5596",
publisher = "Wiley-Blackwell",
number = "1",

}

RIS

TY - JOUR

T1 - Is contracting out of public services still the great panacea?

T2 - A systematic review of studies on economic and quality effects from 2000-2014

AU - Petersen, Ole Helby

AU - Hjelmar, Ulf

AU - Vrangbæk, Karsten

PY - 2018/1

Y1 - 2018/1

N2 - This article presents the results of a systematic review of international studies on economic and quality effects of contracting out published in the period from 2000 to 2014. We conducted a comprehensive search of the literature and identified 49 relevant studies. There are three main findings of the systematic review: (1) cost savings documented in international contracting out literature have been decreasing over time; (2) cost savings have been much greater in technical services than in social services; and (3) economic effects have been twice as large in Anglo-Saxon countries compared with other countries. With regard to measuring the effect of contracting out on service quality, which is a vital component of any service delivery arrangement, very few studies assess this issue in a comprehensive manner. There is also a significant lack of studies that include measures of transaction costs, thereby making it difficult to evaluate the impact of contracting out on overall cost-effectiveness of public service delivery. We conclude that generalization of effects from contracting out should be made with caution and are likely to depend, among other things, on the transaction costs characteristics of the service, the market situation and the institutional/regulatory setting.

AB - This article presents the results of a systematic review of international studies on economic and quality effects of contracting out published in the period from 2000 to 2014. We conducted a comprehensive search of the literature and identified 49 relevant studies. There are three main findings of the systematic review: (1) cost savings documented in international contracting out literature have been decreasing over time; (2) cost savings have been much greater in technical services than in social services; and (3) economic effects have been twice as large in Anglo-Saxon countries compared with other countries. With regard to measuring the effect of contracting out on service quality, which is a vital component of any service delivery arrangement, very few studies assess this issue in a comprehensive manner. There is also a significant lack of studies that include measures of transaction costs, thereby making it difficult to evaluate the impact of contracting out on overall cost-effectiveness of public service delivery. We conclude that generalization of effects from contracting out should be made with caution and are likely to depend, among other things, on the transaction costs characteristics of the service, the market situation and the institutional/regulatory setting.

KW - Det Samfundsvidenskabelige Fakultet

KW - Contracting out

KW - costs

KW - evidence

KW - service quality

KW - systematic review

KW - Contracting out

KW - Evidence

KW - Systematic review

KW - COST

KW - service quality

U2 - 10.1111/spol.12297

DO - 10.1111/spol.12297

M3 - Tidsskriftartikel

VL - 52

SP - 130

EP - 157

JO - Social Policy and Administration

JF - Social Policy and Administration

SN - 0144-5596

IS - 1

M1 - 7

ER -

ID: 171613574