Government by Contract

This book sheds new light on a critically important topic. I recommend it to every student of contracting out and privatization. -- Paul C. Light, author of <i>A Government Ill Executed</i> This book could not be more timely or important. Renowned legal scholars Jody Freeman and Martha Minow have assembled some of the best minds in law, public administration, economics, and political science to consider the pervasive trend toward outsourcing in American government. The result is not just an essential guide to a crucial development, but also a nuanced warning: For all the attractions of outsourcing, the tide of "government by contract" threatens both democratic values and shared policy goals. -- Jacob S. Hacker, author of <i>The Great Risk Shift: The Assault on American Jobs, Families, Healthcare, and Retirement--And How You Can Fight Back</i> This book documents both the dramatic recent increase in outsourcing to the private sector of functions traditionally performed directly by government in the U.S. and the equally dramatic breakdowns of traditional accountability mechanisms in many contexts (political, legal, economic). It also outlines an ambitious reform agenda which everyone concerned with the public policy-making process in the 21st century must take seriously. -- Michael Trebilcock, Faculty of Law, University of Toronto

Jody Freeman is Professor of Law, Harvard Law School. Martha Minow is Jeremiah Smith, Jr. Professor of Law, Harvard Law School.

* Acknowledgments * Introduction: Government by Contract: Outsourcing and American Democracy Jody Freeman and Martha Minow I. Recent Developments * Public-Private Governance: An Historical Introduction William J. Novak * The Transformation of Government Work: Causes, Consequences and Distortions John Donahue * The Federal Framework for Competing Commercial Work between the Public and Private Sectors Matthew Blum II. Cases and Critiques * Rent-a-Regulator: Design and Innovation in Environmental Decisionmaking Miriam Seifter * Outsourcing Power: Privatizing Military Efforts and the Risks to Accountability, Professionalism, and Democracy Martha Minow * How Privatization Thinks: The Case of Prisons Sharon Dolovich III. Responses and Reforms A. Don't Increase Regulation * Achieving Contracting Goals and Recognizing Public Law Concerns: A Contracting Management Perspective Steven J. Kelman * Federal Contracting in Context: What Drives It, How to Improve It Stan Soloway and Alan Chvotkin B. Use Existing Tools * Some Legal Reforms to Increase Contractor Accountability Nina A. Mendelson * Privatization and Democracy: Resources in Administrative Law Alfred C. Aman, Jr. C. Press Constitutional Restrictions * Private Delegations, Due Process, and the Duty to Supervise Gillian E. Metzger * Outsourcing and the Duty to Govern Paul R. Verkuil * Public Values/Private Contract Laura A. Dickinson * Notes * List of Contributors * Index