Sharing power : public governance and private markets /

Kettl (political science, Univ. of Wisconsin-Madison) considers a number of important issues related to governments and the private sector. Perhaps most important is whether private markets can competitively supply government agencies with what they want at a reasonable price and whether governments have the capacity to adequately monitor the contracts they conclude with private vendors. Often only one or two vendors can provide the goods and services government agencies are seeking. Sometimes governments may not award contracts to the lowest bidder to keep more than one vendor in business so that there will be some future competition. Or, the huge size of a government contract makes competitive bidding unlikely. Even if governments are able to benefit from the efficiency of a competitive bid process, they are unable to effectively monitor contract compliance and performance. Contract monitoring units are among the first casualties of budget cutbacks. Perhaps more critical, in Kettl's view, is that those responsible for monitoring do not have the appropriate skills. They are usually skilled in substantive issues rather than in contract management, oversight, and evaluation. Well documented and persuasively written. General through faculty. J. S. Zacek; SUNY at Albany

In Government by Proxy: (Mis?)Managing Federal Programs (Congressional Quarterly Press, 1988) political scientist Kettl discussed the increasing reliance of the federal government upon intermediaries to carry out governmental policy. In his current book he continues this theme, explaining that this trend receives support from leaders both on the left and right of the political spectrum who endorse contracting out for services. While not disputing that benefits can be derived from privatization, he does show, through several case studies, that careful scrutiny must be made of this process. To succeed, Kettl believes career government officials must become smart buyers of services and able to negotiate and manage contracts, while elected and appointed officials must become aware of the issues involved in contracting and be able to determine and preserve core governmental functions. Recommended for large business and public administration collections.-- Robert Logsdon, Indiana State Lib . , Indianapolis (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.