Effects of contracting out public sector tasks

The study is based on a recognized research-based method and is the most comprehensive Danish review in this area to date.

The report examines:

1. the effects of contracting out in relation to price and quality,
2. differences in documented effects between technical and social service areas,
3. the impact on employees affected by contracting out.

The conclusions are that contracting out tasks within technical service areas leads to generally documented cost savings, but these savings are relatively small, and many studies have not sufficiently controlled for the quality level after contracting out. Existing studies of social services areas are generally of a lower quality and there is no general evidence here to say that private actors deliver the services cheaper or with a higher quality than the public sector itself does. The documented effects on employees are predominantly negative in both the Danish and international studies.

The results of the study are presented in this main report, whereas the detailed examination and assessment of the quality of the 80 studies is presented in the Appendix, which is only avaible in Danish.

Denne rapport er en engelsk oversættelse af:

Effekter ved udlicitering af offentlige opgaver: En forskningsbaseret gennemgang af danske og internationale undersøgelser fra 2000-2011, AKF 2011.