ABSTRACT
After decades of privatisation policies there are increasing signs of a reversal of this trend at the level of SOEs and local public services. (Re)municipalisation has become one of the most important changes in local service delivery in recent years. Until recently, the lack of comprehensive data has made it difficult to determine the scale or geography of (re)municipalisation. This chapter addresses such questions by utilising a recently published dataset that provides details on 834 known cases of (re)municipalisation in 44 countries between 1999 and 2017. It finds that Germany and France account for almost 60 per cent of all recorded cases and that almost 70 per cent of cases have been in the energy and water services sectors. The data shows a clear trend of increasing levels of (re)municipalisation (in cumulative terms). The majority of cases occurred following the decision not to renew contracts after they expired. The chapter also reviews the emerging literature on (re)municipalisation and identifies a number of factors that have motivated and enabled the levels of (re)municipalisation witnessed to date. It concludes that while significant, the current wave of (re)municipalisation does not necessarily represent a paradigm shift as privatisation policies (at national and local level) remain popular.
