Savas provides a complete guide to privatization--the background, theory, and practical reality. This book explains what, why, when, and how to privatize. Contracting services, using franchises and vouchers, divesting government-owned businesses, privatizing infrastructure through public-private partnerships, reforming education, privatizing the welfare state, and overcoming opposition to privatization are discussed in detail. In addition, Savas provides hundreds of examples from local, state, and federal government in the U.S. and other countries.