{
  "id": "RL33777",
  "type": "CRS Report",
  "typeId": "REPORTS",
  "number": "RL33777",
  "active": false,
  "source": "EveryCRSReport.com, University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department",
  "versions": [
    {
      "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
      "id": 348538,
      "date": "2007-04-23",
      "retrieved": "2016-04-07T18:10:12.716029",
      "title": "Privatization and the Federal Government: An\u00a0Introduction",
      "summary": "During the past two decades, the privatization of federal agencies and activities has been much debated. That said, privatization\u2014here defined as the use of the private sector in the provision of a good or service, the components of which include financing, operations (supplying, production, delivery), and quality control\u2014is not a recent phenomenon. Since its founding in 1789, the federal government has used private firms to provide goods and services. Hence, privatization, in all its forms, which include contracting out, vouchers, and prize competitions, is of perennial interest to Congress.\nThis report is an introduction to privatization in the federal governmental context. It discusses the emergence of privatization on the federal policy agenda in the late 1970s and early 1980s. To some, privatization appeared as an answer to the purported failures of \u201cbig government.\u201d Privatization attracted political support due to its rhetorically persuasive rationales, purported benefits, and political attractiveness. However, privatization also has been controversial. Critics have complained that privatization is a form of union busting and that privatization can have unforeseen and undesirable consequences.\nThis report also supplies a typology of the various means through which federal agencies and activities have been privatized. The typology shows that privatization is not an either/or proposition. Rather, privatization, as this report\u2019s definition implies, is a matter of degree. Policymakers may transfer to the private sector one or more of the components of government provision of goods and services\u2014however many they deem appropriate.\nNext, the report explains the distinction between privatization and marketization, an alternative to privatization, which is \u201cthe structuring of a government agency so that it provides goods and services in the efficient manner of a private firm.\u201d Marketization retains an activity within the governmental sector; privatization moves the components of an activity to the private sector. This distinction is significant because entities within these differing sectors tend to behave differently. Private sector firms tend to be self-directing and profit-seeking; government agencies tend to be process-oriented and pursue the multiple and sometimes conflicting goals assigned to them by Congress and the President. Hence, policymakers who wish to improve an agency\u2019s efficiency or performance, but are leery of privatization, may find marketization an attractive option.\nFinally, the report notes that, whenever policymakers consider privatizing a federal agency or activity, a fundamental issue arises\u2014\u201cWhich activities are essential to the state and should remain directly accountable to the elected representatives of the people and which may be carried out by the private sector?\u201d This question is complex and value-laden; no definitive answer exists. Thus, the decision to privatize is inherently controversial.\nThis report will not be updated.",
      "type": "CRS Report",
      "typeId": "REPORTS",
      "active": false,
      "formats": [
        {
          "format": "HTML",
          "encoding": "utf-8",
          "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/RL33777",
          "sha1": "bc511cfbb0143221e899e7de8246c9c9d533beed",
          "filename": "files/20070423_RL33777_bc511cfbb0143221e899e7de8246c9c9d533beed.html",
          "images": null
        },
        {
          "format": "PDF",
          "encoding": null,
          "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/RL33777",
          "sha1": "c55083fbc7031dbebda97f96f218f062f6a839e6",
          "filename": "files/20070423_RL33777_c55083fbc7031dbebda97f96f218f062f6a839e6.pdf",
          "images": null
        }
      ],
      "topics": []
    },
    {
      "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department",
      "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc815384/",
      "id": "RL33777_2006Dec28",
      "date": "2006-12-28",
      "retrieved": "2016-03-19T13:57:26",
      "title": "Privatization and the Federal Government: An Introduction",
      "summary": null,
      "type": "CRS Report",
      "typeId": "REPORT",
      "active": false,
      "formats": [
        {
          "format": "PDF",
          "filename": "files/20061228_RL33777_55485b0df9c9ed45089caa88ed39d576af876709.pdf"
        },
        {
          "format": "HTML",
          "filename": "files/20061228_RL33777_55485b0df9c9ed45089caa88ed39d576af876709.html"
        }
      ],
      "topics": []
    }
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Economic Policy",
    "National Defense"
  ]
}