








The authors examine how personnel managers in the educational public sector might employ variants of privatization to achieve public goals. Privatization supporters see it as a magic bullet to improve failing public schools, whereas opponents view it as a threat to public education. The authors argue for a more complex understanding of privatization in public education. Analysts typically overlook the potential for privatization to change traditional personnel practices and the incentives of public servants. Accordingly, the authors define privatization as including the incentives employed within organizations. By this definition, many public bureaucracies may currently serve private interests. The authors then discuss various means of privatization in public education, including vouchers, public charter schools, subcontracting public school management to private providers, and merit pay for teachers. After describing the extant literature and case studies of various forms of privatization, the authors conclude that privatization, broadly defined, can align the private interests of employees with public values.
