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In the flush of enthusiasm to make government work better, reformers from both left and right have urged government to turn as many functions as possible over to the private sector and to allow market competition instill efficiency and choice. In fact, government has been doing just this for years: every major policy initiative launched since World War II has been managed by public-private partnerships. Yet such privatization has not solved government's problems. While there have been some positive results, thee has been far less success than advocates of market competition have promised.

In a searching examination of why the ""competition prescription"" has not worked well, Donald F. Kettl finds that government has largely been a poor judge of private markets. Because government rarely operates in truly competitive markets contracting out has not so much solved the problems of inefficiency, but has aggravated them. Government has often not proved to be an intelligent consumer of the goods and services it has purchased. Kettl provides specific recommendations as to how government can become a ""smart buyer,"" knowing what it wants and judging better what it has bought.

Through detailed case studies, Kettl shows that as market imperfections increase, so do problems in governance and management. He examines the A-76 program for buying goods and services, the FTS-2000 telecommunications system, the Superfund program, the Department of Energy's production of nuclear weapons, and contracting out by state and local governments. He argues that government must be more aggressive in managing contracts if it is to build successful partnerships with outside contractors.

Kettl maintains that the answer is not more government, but a smarter one, which requires strong political leadership to refocus the bureaucracy's mission and to change the bureaucratic culture.

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Chapter 1 The Competition Prescription The Hidden Growth of Public-Private Partnerships Private Markets Public Interests The Myth of the Self-Governing Market Chapter 2 Government and Markets The Contracting Relationship Different Markets, Different Problems Sharing Power Chapter 3 The A-76 Program: Logistics and Libraries Devising a Competitive Process The Fruits of Competition Contracting Out and Government Employees The Government as Buyer Chapter 4 The FTS-2000 System: Federal Telecommunications The Problem of Competition Competition in Contracting Administering the Contract Managing Market Competition Chapter 5 Superfund: Red Ice and Purple Dogs Negotiating Market Behavior Controlling the Market Program Oversight Agency Cultures An Imperfect Marketplace Chapter 6 Nuclear Weapons Production: Bombs and Bomb Makers Trouble at Rocky Flats Changing the Bureaucratic Culture The Intelligence of Government Chapter 7 Contracting Out in State and Local Governments The Evidence on State and Local Contracting Contracting Out for Social Services Accountability in Service Networks Chapter 8 The Smart-Buyer Problem The Government as Smart Buyer Mutual Dependence Management Issues for Contracting Chapter 9 Managing Versus Governing Coping with Uncertainty Governing through Leadership Index