Political and financial factors motivating privatisation, its reverse and corporatisation of municipal waste collection

This paper analyses different modes of provision for household waste collection
and changes in that by Dutch municipalities in the period between 1998 and
2018. Based on a transition matrix, the shifts in the mode of waste collection are
made transparent. In more than half of the municipalities, shifts took place, 56%
towards outside production and 44% towards inside production and in later
periods, inside production has become important. Furthermore, in the most
recent time, reverse privatisation is preferred. We find that ideological factors
have an influence on choices of provision modes and that municipalities with
a more political fragmented board are less likely to corporatize or privatise
waste collection. Finally, there is evidence that municipalities with a relatively
negative financial position are more likely to go outside and that in pre-election
years there is some hesitation to corporatize.