ART - Book Review - You Don't Always Get What You Pay For 2003

The document is a book review of "You Don't Always Get What You Pay For: The Economics of Privatization" by Elliot D. Sclar. The review is written by David R. Shetterly from Troy State University – Atlantic Region. The book focuses on the economic implications of privatization and the role of public contracting in the privatization of services. It challenges the traditional legalistic approach to public contracting and argues for a paradigm shift towards relational contracting, which emphasizes a cooperative relationship between the public organization and private contractor. The review highlights the importance of the principal-agent relationship in determining contract cost and quality. It also discusses different types of contracts, such as complete contracts, incomplete contracts, and relational contracts, providing examples for each. The review acknowledges that the book lacks specific prescriptive information on contracting methods and specific services suited for relational contracting. However, it praises the book for its theoretical basis for privatization and its empirical data derived from various cases. Overall, the review recommends the book for those interested in the subject of privatization and those looking for guidance on how to make privatization happen.