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Public employee unions and the privatization of “public” services

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Abstract

Public sector unions are strongly opposed to contracting with the private sector for the production of goods and services. Economic theory indicates that because of incentives the private sector should be much more efficient that the public sector — a proposition verified for numerous activities of state and local governments. This paper examines evidence at the federal level to show that substantial cost savings can be achieved by contracting out in that sector as well.

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Bennett, J.T., DiLorenzo, T.J. Public employee unions and the privatization of “public” services. Journal of Labor Research 4, 33–45 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02685502

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