QoG lunch seminar with Gregg Van Ryzin

Abstract:

Co-production is a fundamental concept in public administration yet one that has been defined and applied in various ways, in large part because coproduction appears in so many forms and plays such different roles depending on the public service and policy context. This paper shows how causal diagrams can be useful to sort out some of the conceptual as well as practical complexity of coproduction and to compare coproduction processes across services and settings. It then demonstrates the approach by applying it to a set of typical public goods and services, including roads, community gardens, child car safety, education, and policing. The paper then suggests how the causal approach can shed light on related concepts and various definitions of coproduction. At the conclusion, implications of viewing coproduction as a causal process, and specifically the use of causal diagrams, for theory and practice are discussed.