Municipalities with professional management and weak mayors are less likely to outsource public services

Local governments in the US often have the option to provide services in-house or to outsource these to other governments, private firms, or nonprofits. But what determines whether a municipality outsources it services? Wenchi Wei examines the importance of local political institutions in public service outsourcing, finding that the type of people in leadership positions in a municipality – “weak” mayors and, managers with professional backgrounds – as well as local electoral rules, can all influence the level of service outsourcing.