Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/306805 
Year of Publication: 
2024
Series/Report no.: 
IFN Working Paper No. 1505
Publisher: 
Research Institute of Industrial Economics (IFN), Stockholm
Abstract: 
Quasi-markets in the provision of public services are increasingly common but also highly contested. We formulate a conceptual framework based on economic theory to describe how quasi-markets differ from traditional markets in five aspects: 1) revenues, costs, and profits, 2) the matching of supply and demand, 3) competition, 4) structural change, and 5) rent-seeking. Using the assumption of profit-maximizing actors, we provide a stress test of quasi-market design and highlight how these differences affect incentives and expected outcomes. Applying the framework to the Swedish school voucher system, we show how design decisions have generated unintended consequences that are detrimental to service quality and run counter to policy goals.
Subjects: 
quasi-markets
school vouchers
market structure
public administration
JEL: 
H52
H83
D47
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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