Public-Private Partnerships

Catalog description

This course examines the linkages that have developed between the public and private sectors in the delivery of various goods and services in the United States. While there has always been a great deal of interaction between the two sectors, the use of the private sector as a means to provide many of the traditional goods and services provided by the public sector has taken on a new level of importance. As public demands for government services increase and public resources become scarcer, privatization has been touted as the “golden bullet” to cure a wide range of “ills.” This class will be an in-depth analysis of the forces behind the privatization movement. In addition, we will examine the context of privatization, the theoretical and empirical arguments on both sides of the debate, and the different forms of privatization practiced in the U.S. Class discussion will form the basis of the course. We will also draw on a wide range of disciplines in our quest for an understanding of the privatization phenomenon– political science, public administration, public policy, sociology, economics, management, and others.