Zmluvné zabezpečovanie verejných služieb: teoretické východiská a prax v Slovenskej republike
CONTRACTING-OUT IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR:THEORY AND CURRENT SITUATION IN THE SLOVAK REPUBLIC

Summary/Abstract: Contracting-out is in principle standard method of public/private partnership in developed countries with market based economies. In spite of relatively long experience with a use of it, most evaluations prove that both advantages and disadvantages are con-nected with the use of contracting-out also in situations with high potential of supplying markets. The experiences from developed countries indicate that the use of this „market type“ tool in processes of public sector and public management reforms in CEE is very com-plicated and multidimensional issue. Currently there are many important factors and barriers limiting possibilities to implement contracting-out approaches in transitional CEE countries, and limiting possible positive impact of it in all respective dimensions. Using standard public economics approach, we might analyse following important prob-lems areas: • Transitional market failure arguments; • Transitional government failure arguments, at least in three following dimensions: – bureaucratic inefficiencies, – representative democracy failures, – quality of regulation arguments. In our paper we try to assess selected theoretical and practical aspects of contracting-out in CEE countries, using real dates from the Slovak Republic. In theoretical part ge-neral contracting-out issues, and most important specific features of transitional econo-mies influencing processes of contracting-out are highlighted, with focus on current situation in the Slovak Republic. To be able to support theoretical findings and expectations, field research was reali-sed, focusing on the assessment of the current scope of the use of contracting-out of supportive services in selected public sector organisations. All findings support our hypotheses, expecting following: • there is no systematic approach to contracting-out of supportive services, • there are no guidelines or effective regulations to support this processes, • current approaches of public sector organisations to contracting-out are very different, • private markets do not provide enough effective bids to be able contract-out, etc. According to our findings, contracting-out of supportive services is realised within public sector organisations in Slovakia, but in very limited scope – just 21 supportive services were contracted in 40 randomly selected organisations (compared to the Czech Republic with 47 contracted supportive services in 56 visited similar organisations). Purposes to contract are very similar to these included in standard theory – necessity to decrease number of employees, economic advantages, lower costs, delegation of ma-nagement responsibilities, quality increase, lack of qualified personnel, and in one case supreme body ordered the contract.

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