ABSTRACT
The twentieth century presumption that the state should take sole responsibility for the delivery of public services was exceptional. Before then and now, apparently once again, the state and market exist in a blurry entwinement. While markets are not new, the deliberate creation of market-like conditions – through various forms of marketisation – is a more recent development. Four forms of marketisation are considered in Chapter 4. First and foremost, governments advertise contracts to public, private or voluntary sector organisations on the presumption that the forces of competition will serve to maximise technical efficiency. Second, governments have – particularly in the recent past – privatised whole functions in such a way as to offload the responsibility and risk of service delivery to private or public–private hybrids. Third, in circumstances not suited to contracting or privatisation, competition can be constructed through purchaser-provider splits in so-called quasi-markets. Finally, either alongside or in place of the above, yardstick competition can be used to encourage organisations to compete for rank in formal or informal league tables.
