Is private delivery of public services really cheaper? Evidence from public road maintenance in Denmark

It is a general finding that cost savings may be obtained by involving the private sector in public service production. This fact should be of particular interest to countries with large public sectors, such as the Scandinavian countries, where private involvement has a large potential. This paper investigates this potential by focusing on the Danish road sector. 275 municipalities are responsible for the maintenance of approximately 60,000 km of Denmark's 70,000 km public roads. The analysis confirms the international evidence: Involving the private sector also seems to make it possible for the public sector to obtain large cost savings in the Scandinavian countries.