Government by Contract

by Freeman, Jody

• ISBN13: 9780674032088
• ISBN10: 067403208X
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2009-02-28
• Publisher: Harvard Univ Pr

Summary

The dramatic growth of government over the course of the twentieth century since the New Deal prompts concern among libertarians and conservatives and also among those who worry about governmentrs"s costs, efficiency, and quality of service. These concerns, combined with rising confidence in private markets, motivate the widespread shift of federal and state government work to private organizations. This shift typically alters only who performs the work, not who pays or is ultimately responsible for it. "Government by contract" now includes military intelligence, environmental monitoring, prison management, and interrogation of terrorism suspects.Outsourcing government work raises questions of accountability. What role should costs, quality, and democratic oversight play in contracting out government work? What tools do citizens and consumers need to evaluate the effectiveness of government contracts? How can the work be structured for optimal performance as well as compliance with public values?Government by Contract explains the phenomenon and scope of government outsourcing and sets an agenda for future research attentive to workforce capacities as well as legal, economic, and political concerns.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction: Government by Contract: Outsourcing and American Democracy

Recent Developments Public-Private Governance: An Historical Introduction

The Transformation of Government Work: Causes, Consequences and Distortions

The Federal Framework for Competing Commercial Work between the Public and Private Sectors

Cases and Critiques Rent-a-Regulator: Design and Innovation in Environmental Decisionmaking

Outsourcing Power: Privatizing Military Efforts and the Risks to Accountability, Professionalism, and Democracy

How Privatization Thinks: The Case of Prisons

Responses and Reforms

Don't Increase Regulation Achieving Contracting Goals and Recognizing Public Law Concerns: A Contracting Management Perspective

Federal Contracting in Context: What Drives It, How to Improve It

Use Existing Tools Some Legal Reforms to Increase Contractor Accountability Nina A. Mendelson

Privatization and Democracy: Resources in Administrative Law

Press Constitutional Restrictions Private Delegations, Due Process, and the Duty to Supervise

Outsourcing and the Duty to Govern

Public Values/Private Contract

Notes

List of Contributors

Index

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