The Rocky Road to Privatization

Abstract . Three main types of privatization are found in the United States: (1) lower proportion of Gross National Product preempted by the public sector, leaving correspondingly more for the private sector, (2) transferring present government enterprises to private organizations; and (3) contracting out the production and delivery of services financed by public funds. Most discussions of “contracting out,” which come from the “public choice” school of economics and public administration, mainly emphasize theoretical economic advantages. They also suppose that the practice can eradicate political machinations. In contrast, this evaluation takes into account the practices’intensely political environment. Many of the advantages attributed to contracting out often are not realized. The practice in many cases can save money. But successes are likely to be achieved only with projects meeting certain narrow specifications.     

Taking stock of wellness

The health cost crisis has spawned a thriving cost-control industry that offers an ever-growing number of "solutions." The authors of this article encourage employers to go back to the basics in evaluating these offerings, including their wellness policies and programs. This article describes the many ways different employers do wellness, the evidence base for wellness, how employers should target wellness candidates, and the elements of success and failure for wellness initiatives.     

Fundamental obstacles to the use of scientific information in public policy making

In contrast to the prevailing view that more effective use can be made of scientific information in public policy formation, several fundamental obstacles to the effective use of science are identified and described. It is argued that any effort to bring scientific information to bear on public policy must show how these obstacles have been removed.