美国地方政府公共服务合同外包的实践及其启示——基于固体垃圾收集服务的经验研究

Contracting Out Public Services in U.S.Local Governments: Practice and Inspiration——Empirical Research Based on Solid Waste Collection Service

合同外包已成为世界各国政府公共服务提供中的“核心特征之一”。美国地方政府将合同外包视为提高效率,促进地方经济发展的重要手段。有关美国地方政府固体垃圾收集服务合同外包的研究,早已超越传统侧重于公共或私人提供之间的争论。本文根据国外相关学者的最新研究成果,分析了固体垃圾收集服务合同外包所带来的成本效率,讨论其涉及市场特性及合同管理过程中所面临的主要困境;并提出公共服务提供的另一种有效选择,即政府间合作。通过对美国地方政府固体垃圾收集服务合同外包实践经验教训的分析,为我国公共服务改革提供一些启示。

Contracting out has become one of the “core features” of public service provision in governments around the world. Local governments in the United States regard contracting out as an important means of improving efficiency and promoting local economic development. Research on contracting out of solid waste collection services in U.S. local governments has long gone beyond traditional debates that focus on public or private offerings. According to the latest research results of relevant foreign scholars, this paper analyzes the cost efficiency brought by contracting out of solid waste collection service, discusses the market characteristics and contract management and other core issues, and proposes another effective option for public service provision, namely inter-municipal cooperation. It is expected to provide some enlightenment and reference for promoting the reform of China's public service through the analysis of the pratical experience of outsourcing contracting for solid waste collection services in the US local government.