What Carillion's collapse tells us about public sector outsourcing

Simon Wren-Lewis reflects on the collapse of the construction firm Carillion and on the problems that have ensued for the government. Weighing the pros and cons, he suggests that it is likely that some of the current Private Finance Initiative (PFI) outsourcing was influenced by ideological considerations rather than being purely evidence-based, and warns that the next government should conduct a thorough review.