DOES THE MISSION OF PROVIDERS MATTER ON A QUASI-MARKET? THE CASE OF THE BELGIAN 'SERVICE VOUCHER' SCHEME

In 2001, the Belgian government introduced a 'service voucher' scheme in the field of domestic (housework) services, following a quasi-market mechanism which fosters competition between providers of different types as regards sector (for-profit, public, third sector) and mission (seeking profits, home care provision to vulnerable groups and work integration of the unemployed). Empirical evidence suggests that third sector organizations focusing on a social mission recognized by a tutelary regulation are the best performing with regards to the quality of jobs and service organization, leading to a better 'triangulation' of the service relationship. On the other hand, for-profit providers, especially temporary work agencies, seem to favour their capacity of adaptation to the desiderata of their clients and costs' minimization to the detriment of the quality of jobs which are made as flexible as possible. Copyright © 2010 The Authors Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics © 2010 CIRIEC.