This study explores forces that push public agencies to overcome barriers to cooperation. Case studies of nine groups of local school districts examined the pressures that shaped local participation in cooperative programs. The literature on relationships among organizations suggests six...

Government is generally not considered an efficient producer. Yet, conceptually, it is relatively simple to construct a system of incentives and controls that should lead to efficiency. The outcomes of over 1700 recent competitions between government producers and the private sector, conducted...

In this paper the choice between public and private provision of goods and services is considered. In practice, both modes of operation involve significant delegation of authority, and thus appear quite similar in some respects. The argument here is that the main difference between the two modes...