Private Provision of Public Services and Infrastructure

摘要

The establishment and expansion of private enterprises and deregulated markets in developing countries is a major A.I.D. policy goal. The study investigates the desirability of having the private sector supply goods and services that are typically considered the sole responsibility of the public sector. Economic theory and empirical evidence from over 30 categories of so-called public infrastructure and services, such as birth control programs, building maintenance, education, hospitals, housing, parks, ports, postal services, prisons, refuse collection, streets, urban transit, waste disposal, water supply, and the like, indicate that private supply is more cost-effective than public supply. On the basis of these findings, it is recommended that A.I.D. support systematic collection, analysis, and dissemination of comparative cost data from developing countries and also that the Agency, particularly the Bureau for Private Enterprise, specifically include private provision of public infrastructure and services in its private enterprise promotion and assistance programs and engage in projects to demonstrate privatized public infrastructure and services. A 145-item bibliography (1898-1984) is appended.