Episode Details

In this episode of UCL Uncovering Politics, our new co-host Dr Julia de Romémont explores how elected policymakers approach decisions about public service delivery, and whether their preferences reflect the public interest or their own electoral incentives.

Previous research suggests that financial pressures can encourage greater private-sector involvement, while policymakers are more likely to claim credit for services when the government’s role in delivery is clear. But what drives individual policymakers’ preferences when choosing between different delivery arrangements?

Julia is joined by Dr Eleanor Woodhouse, Associate Professor in Public Policy in UCL’s Department of Political Science, to discuss a survey experiment with local policymakers in the United States. The study examines how different models of service delivery, public, private and public–private partnerships, shape policymakers’ expectations of service performance and their ability to claim credit.

Mentioned in this episode:

• Policymakers' Preferences Over Public–Private Modes of Service Delivery and Credit-Claiming: Experimental Evidence, by Eleanor Woodhouse, Paolo Belardinelli and Nathan Lee.