UNDERSTANDING PRIVATIZATION

Privatization is an issue about delivery of services, while running government at a reasonable cost. It is an issue for those who see a restricted role for government and those who believe in the marketplace and competition. It involves restructuring and rethinking government''s role, shifting from provider/producer to provider, or divesting activities. It is ubiquitous but not understood. By weighting the intensity/extent of related laws, I developed a model to interval rank state efforts. Then, using several indices, looked if indicators showed a state likely to support it. These included income, politics, innovation, culture, social capacity, and labor strength. Relationships were tested with regression analysis, looking for a relationships. Positing that states with a conservative bias would be likely to support privatization and liberal states would show less support for privatization. Data suggests that privatization is not a movement, there is little idealism or sense of belonging among advocates or opponents, the efforts are diverse, fragmented and sometimes ill advised, and defies prediction based on criteria applied.