Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The Political Economy Foundations of Co-production

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
The Palgrave Handbook of Co-Production of Public Services and Outcomes

  • 2412 Accesses

Abstract

This chapter provides an interpretation of co-production using an economist’s lens. Until now public sector economists have paid relatively little attention to the concept of co-production. Producers and consumers of public services are treated in a highly abstract way which ignores the institutional context of consumption and production and which renders them lifeless and without voice. This chapter explores some consequences of giving producers and consumers agency in the organisation and consumption of public services. It explores both collective co-production and individual co-production. Team production theory is used for the first time to examine collective co-production and a variant of public choice theory is used to study individual co-production. In both cases new insights and hypotheses are generated, which will form the basis of subsequent research.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 189.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 249.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 249.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Alchian, A., and Demsetz, H. (1972). Production, Information Costs and Economic Organization, American Economic Review, 66, 777–795.

    Google Scholar 

  • Alford, J. (1998). A Public Management Road Less Travelled: Clients as Co-Producers of Public Services, Australian Journal of Public Administration, 57(4), 128–137.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Alford, J. (2002). Defining the Client in the Public Sector: A Social Exchange Perspective, Public Administration Review, 62(3), 337–346.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Alford, J. (2016). Co-Production, Interdependencies and Publicness, Public Management Review, 18(5), 673–691.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Axelrod, R. (1984). The Evolution of Co-Operation. New York: Basic Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Besley, T. (2006). Principled Agents? Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bovaird, T. (2005). Public Governance: Balancing Stakeholder Power in a Network Society, International Review of Administrative Sciences, 71(2), 217–228.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bovaird, T. (2007). Beyond Engagement and Participation: User and Community Coproduction of Public Services, Public Administration Review, 67(5), 846–860.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bovaird, T., and Loeffler, E. (2010). User and Community Co-Production of Public Services and Public Policies Through Collective Decision Making. In T. Brandsen and M. Holzer (eds), The Future of Governance. Newark, NJ: National Centre for Performance.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bovaird, T., and Loeffler, E. (2012). From Engagement to Co-Production: The Contribution of Users and Communities to Outcomes and Public Value. Voluntas: International Journal of Voluntary and Non-Profit Organizations, 23(4), 1119–1138.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bovaird, T., Stoker, G., Jones, T., Loeffler, E., and Ronancio, M. (2016). Activating Collective Co-Production of Public Services: Influencing Citizens to Participate in Complex Governance Mechanisms in the UK, International Review of Administrative Sciences, 82(1), 47–68.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bowles, S. (1998). Endogenous Preferences: The Cultural Consequences of Markets and Other Economic Institutions, Journal of Economic Literature, 36, 75–111.

    Google Scholar 

  • Breton, A., and Wintrobe, R. (1982). The Logic of Bureaucratic Conduct. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Brudney, J. L., and England, R. E. (1983). Towards a Definition of the Co-Production Concept, Public Administration Review, 43(1), 59–65.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Buchanan, J. M. (2007). Economics from the Outside In. College Station: Texas A&M University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Buchanan, J. M., and Tullock, G. (1962). The Calculus of Consent. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eriksson, E. M. (2019). Representative Co-Production: Broadening the Scope of the Public Service Logic, Public Management Review, 21(2), 291–314.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grönroos, C. (2006). Adopting a Service Logic for Marketing, Marketing Theory, 6(3), 317–333.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grönroos, C. (2008). Service Logic Revisited: Who Creates Value and Who Co-Creates? European Business Review, 20(4), 298–314.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jackson, P. M. (1982). The Political Economy of Bureaucracy. Oxford: Philip Allan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jackson, P. M. (2001). Public Sector Added Value: Can Bureaucracy Deliver? Public Administration, 79(1), 5–28.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Le Grand, J. (2003) Motivation, Agency and Public Policy. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Loeffler, E. (2016). Co-Production of Public Services and Outcomes. In T. Bovaird and E. Loeffler (eds), Public Management and Governance (pp. 319–336). London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lusch, R. F., and Vargo, S. L. (2006). The Service Dominant Logic of Marketing. New York: M.E. Sharpe.

    Google Scholar 

  • Meijer, A. J. (2014). New Media and the Co-Production of Safety: An Empirical Analysis of Dutch Practices, The American Review of Public Administration, 44(1), 17–34.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nabatchi, T., Sicilia, M., and Sancino, A. (2017). Varieties of Participation in Public Services: The Who, When and What of Co-Production, Public Administration Review, 77(5), 766–776.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Needham, C. (2007). Realizing the Potential of Co-Production: Negotiating Improvements in Public Services, Social Policy and Society, 7(2), 221–231.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • NESTA. (2012). People Powered Health Coproduction Catalogue. London: NESTA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Niskanen, W. A. (1971). A Reflection on Bureaucracy and Representative Government. Chicago: Aldine.

    Google Scholar 

  • Normann, R. (1991). Service Management-Strategy and Leadership in Service Business. Chichester: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Olson, M. (1965). The Logic of Collective Action. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Osborne, S. P. (2010). Delivering Public Services: Time for a New Theory? Public Management Review, 12(1), 1–10.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Osborne, S. P. (2018) From Public Service-Dominant Logic to Public Service Logic: Are Public Service Organizations Capable of Co-Production and Value Co-Creation? Public Management Review, 20(2), 225–231.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ostrom, E. (1972). Metropolitan Reform: Propositions Derived from Two Traditions, Social Science Quarterly, 53, December, 474–493.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ostrom, E. (1996). Crossing the Great Divide: Co-Production, Synergy and Development, World Development, 24(6), 1073–1087.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Parks, R., Baker, P. C., Kiser, L., Oakerson, R., Ostrom, E., Ostrom, V., Percy, S. L. (1981). Consumers as Co-Producers of Public Services: Some Economic and Institutional Considerations, Policy Studies Journal, 7, 486–492.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pestoff, V. (2006) Citizens and Co-Production of Welfare Services, Public Management Review, 8(4), 503–519.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pestoff, V. (2009). Towards a Paradigm of Democratic Participation and Co-Production of Personal Social Services in Sweden, Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, 80(2), 197–224.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Prahalad, C. K., and Ramaswamy, V. (2000). Co-Opting Customer Competence, Harvard Business Review, 78(1), 79–87.

    Google Scholar 

  • Prahalad, C. K., and Ramaswamy, V. (2004). The Future of Competition: Co-Creating Unique Value with Customers. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rajan, R., and Zingales, L. (1998). Power in the Theory of the Firm, Quarterly Journal of Economics, 113(2), 387–432.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ritzer, G. (1993). The McDonaldization of Society. Boston, MA: Pine Forge Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sancino, A. (2010). Community Governance as a Response to Economic Crisis, Public Money and Management, 30(2), 117–118.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sharp, E. B. (1980). Towards a New Understanding of Urban Services and Citizen Participation: The Co-Production Concept, Midwest Review of Public Administration, 14(2), 105–118.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sicilia, M., Guarini, E., Sancino, A., Andreani, M., and Ruffini, R. (2016). Public Services Management and Co-Production in Multi-Level Governance Settings, International Review of Administrative Sciences, 82(1), 8–27.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tirole, J. (1986). Hierarchies and Bureaucracies: On the Role of Collusion in Organizations, Journal of Law, Economics and Organization, 2(2), 181–214.

    Google Scholar 

  • Verschuere, B., Brandsen, T., and Pestoff, V. (2012). Co-Production: The State of the Art in Research and the Future Agenda, Voluntas: International Journal of Voluntary and Non-Profit Organizations, 23(4), 1883–1101.

    Google Scholar 

  • Whitaker, G. P. (1980). Co-Production: Citizen Participation in Service Delivery, Public Administration Review, 40(3), 240–246.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Williamson, O. E. (1975). Markets and Hierarchies, Analysis and AntitrustImplications: A Study in the Economics of Internal Organization. New York: FreePress.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

I would like to acknowledge the useful comments on an earlier draft of this chapter that I received from Professor Michael Connolly; Professor Monica Franco-Santos and the editors. I take full responsibility for all remaining errors.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Leicester, Leicester, UK

    Peter M. Jackson

Authors
  1. Peter M. Jackson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Peter M. Jackson .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Strathclyde Business School, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, UK

    Elke Loeffler

  2. INLOGOV, School of Government, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK

    Tony Bovaird

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2021 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Jackson, P.M. (2021). The Political Economy Foundations of Co-production. In: Loeffler, E., Bovaird, T. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Co-Production of Public Services and Outcomes. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-53705-0_4

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation