Service Shedding in Local Governments: Why Do They Do It?
基于四次全国调查数据，研究美国地方政府服务剥离的普遍性及决定因素，发现先前外包模式与邻近政府行为是关键，而预算压力与意识形态影响不大。
Using four consecutive International City/County Management Association alternative service delivery arrangement surveys, this study explores the determinants of service shedding by local government in the United States. Our findings indicate that service shedding is fairly common, with almost 70% of jurisdictions experiencing at least one termination between 1992 and 1997. With regards to why jurisdictions shed services, we find that prior delivery mode is very influential. Specifically, services that were contracted out in the previous time period are much more likely to be dropped than are those that were produced in-house. We also find that the behavior of neighboring jurisdictions matters—if your neighbors tend to provide a service, you tend to continue to do so as well. We find little support for the idea that either budget stress or ideology is impactful in the decision to drop services.