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Private or Public? Towards a Taxonomy of Optimal Ownership and Management Regimes

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  • STEPHEN KING
  • ROHAN PITCHFORD

Abstract

We develop a model to assist policy‐makers in their choice between private and public ownership for a broad range of activities, based on managers’ ability to divert resources through perks or pet projects. Qualitative information is always required to demonstrate that public ownership is optimal. More ‘public’ firms are synonymous with greater control of such actions, but generate greater bureaucracy costs. The flat incentives faced by public managers can be socially desirable when commercially productive activities generate large social harms relative to profit, but are undesirable when these activities are either benign or create external social benefits. Applications are discussed.

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  • Stephen King & Rohan Pitchford, 2008. "Private or Public? Towards a Taxonomy of Optimal Ownership and Management Regimes," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 84(266), pages 366-377, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:ecorec:v:84:y:2008:i:266:p:366-377
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1475-4932.2008.00497.x
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    1. David Martimort & Flavio Menezes & Myrna Wooders & ELISABETTA IOSSA & DAVID MARTIMORT, 2015. "The Simple Microeconomics of Public-Private Partnerships," Journal of Public Economic Theory, Association for Public Economic Theory, vol. 17(1), pages 4-48, February.
    2. Oliver Hart, 2003. "Incomplete Contracts and Public Ownership: Remarks, and an Application to Public-Private Partnerships," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 113(486), pages 69-76, March.
    3. King, S. & Pitchford, R., 1998. "Private or Public? A Taxonomy of Optimal Ownership and Management Regimes," Department of Economics - Working Papers Series 625, The University of Melbourne.
    4. Cook, David C. & Fraser, Rob W. & Weinert, Andrew S., 2013. "An Example of How Chemical Regulation is Affecting Biosecurity Policy-Making: Mediterranean Fruit Fly in Western Australia," 2013 Conference (57th), February 5-8, 2013, Sydney, Australia 152142, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society.
    5. Elisabetta Iossa & David Martimort, 2012. "Risk allocation and the costs and benefits of public--private partnerships," RAND Journal of Economics, RAND Corporation, vol. 43(3), pages 442-474, September.
    6. Lassila, Jukka & Lazutka, Romas & Morkuniene, Audrone & Jensen, Svend E. Hougaard, 2002. "Lithuanian Pension System: Alternatives and Proposals for the Future - A Summary Report by The Phare Study Group," Discussion Papers 713, The Research Institute of the Finnish Economy.
    7. Mahavadi Dhanshyam & Samir K. Srivastava, 2021. "Governance structures for public infrastructure projects: Public–private management regimes, contractual forms and innovation," Construction Management and Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 39(8), pages 652-668, August.
    8. Schmitz, Patrick W., 2021. "Optimal ownership of public goods under asymmetric information," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 198(C).
    9. Ross Guest, 2010. "The Proposed Privatisation of Queensland Motorways," Economic Papers, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 29(1), pages 23-33, March.
    10. Laura Abrardi & Luca Colombo & Pier Angelo Mori, 2016. "Customer Ownership And Quality Provision In Public Services Under Asymmetric Information," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 54(3), pages 1499-1518, July.
    11. Ronald Fischer & Nicolás Campos & Eduardo Engel & Alexander Galetovic, 2019. "Renegotiations and Corruption in Infrastructure: The Odebrecht Case," Documentos de Trabajo 346, Centro de Economía Aplicada, Universidad de Chile.
    12. Bennett, John & Iossa, Elisabetta, 2006. "Building and managing facilities for public services," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 90(10-11), pages 2143-2160, November.
    13. David C. Cook & Shuang Liu & Brendan Murphy & W. Mark Lonsdale, 2010. "Adaptive Approaches to Biosecurity Governance," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(9), pages 1303-1314, September.
    14. Eva I. Hoppe & Patrick W. Schmitz, 2021. "How (Not) to Foster Innovations in Public Infrastructure Projects," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 123(1), pages 238-266, January.
    15. repec:ags:aare05:139327 is not listed on IDEAS
    16. Jean-Etienne de Bettignies & Thomas W. Ross, 2010. "The Economics of Public–Private Partnerships: Some Theoretical Contributions," Chapters, in: Graeme A. Hodge & Carsten Greve & Anthony E. Boardman (ed.), International Handbook on Public–Private Partnerships, chapter 7, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    17. Cook, David C. & Lonsdale, Mark, 2006. "A strategic protection approach to biosecurity: Policy implications of an ‘immune system’ model for addressing the risks and consequences of invasive species," 2006 Conference (50th), February 8-10, 2006, Sydney, Australia 174469, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society.
    18. Richard J. Kish & Amy F. Lipton, 2013. "Do Private Prisons Really offer Savings Compared with their Public Counterparts?," Economic Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(1), pages 93-107, February.
    19. de Bettignies, Jean-Etienne & Ross, Thomas W., 2009. "Public-private partnerships and the privatization of financing: An incomplete contracts approach," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 27(3), pages 358-368, May.
    20. Jean-Etienne de Bettignies & Thomas W. Ross, 2004. "The Economics of Public-Private Partnerships," Canadian Public Policy, University of Toronto Press, vol. 30(2), pages 135-154, June.
    21. Cook, David C. & Fraser, Rob W. & Weinert, Andrew S., 2013. "Eradication vs. Control in Biosecurity Policy-Making: Mediterranean Fruit Fly in Western Australia," 87th Annual Conference, April 8-10, 2013, Warwick University, Coventry, UK 158701, Agricultural Economics Society.
    22. Mattheus Wassenaar & Raymond Gradus & Toon Molleman, 2017. "Public vs Nonprofit Incarceration: The Case of The Netherlands," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 17-023/VIII, Tinbergen Institute.
    23. Stefan Markowski & Robert Wylie, 2012. "Using Commercial Discipline To Improve Australian Defence Procurement: Misplaced Enthusiasm?," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 30(3), pages 448-462, July.

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    JEL classification:

    • G32 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Financing Policy; Financial Risk and Risk Management; Capital and Ownership Structure; Value of Firms; Goodwill

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