Public administration 1b bpa 2ND semester 2015

Government and the public sector

The public sector The public sector is the part of economic and administrative life that deals with the delivery of goods and services by and for the government, whether national, regional or local/municipal. Examples of public sector activity range from delivering social security, administering urban planning and organizing national defences

Format of public sector Direct administration (funded through taxes) Publically owned corporations (“SOC”) Partial outsourcing Complete outsourcing (regarded as a borderline form)

The private sector The private sector is fundamentally part of the economy that is both run for profit and is not controlled by the state. By contrast, enterprises that are part of the state are part of the public sector:

Format of the private sector Note: Public companies are part of the private sector, despite their name Companies (public and private) Partnerships Sole traders etc….

The public service Public service is a term used to mean services provided by government to its citizens, either directly (through the public sector) or by financing private provision of services. The term is associated with a social consensus (usually expressed through democratic elections) that certain services should be available to all, regardless of income.

Public services Public services tend to be those considered so essential to modern life that for moral reasons their universal provision should be guaranteed, and they may be associated wi th fundamental human rights (such as the right to water).

Examples of public services Health Military Police Education Broadcasting Telecommunications Transport Housing

Characteristics of public services May be public goods or merit goods Normally a service (as opposed to a good) May be provided by local or national monopoly May involve hard to measure outputs or hard to measure quality May require high levels of training or education

History of public services Generally began late 19th Century in Europe Focussed on provision of water and gas Later expanded to other services such as electricity, health etc

nationalisation Post WW2 Europe saw many demands on limited resources which required central planning to maximise efficient production – this lead to Government owned supply

privatisation Private company Partial State ownership Public –private partnership

government A government is a body that has the power to make and the authority to enforce rules and laws within a civil, corporate, religious, academic, or other organization or group.

Classification of governments In autocracies, one individual holds all the power. This category includes absolute monarchies, as well as dictatorships. In oligarchies, political power is held by a small group of people who share the same interests. Democracies are governments where the people as a whole hold the power. It may be exercised by them (direct democracy), or through representatives chosen by them (representative democracy). Anarchy is a lack of government or imposed rule.

The origins of governmnt Force theory Order and tradition Natural rights Social contract