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WHEN IS A SERVICE AN ESSENTIAL PUBLIC SERVICE?
Author(s) -
Van De Walle Steven
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
annals of public and cooperative economics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.526
H-Index - 37
eISSN - 1467-8292
pISSN - 1370-4788
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-8292.2009.00397.x
Subject(s) - eurobarometer , variety (cybernetics) , public opinion , public relations , politics , service (business) , business , public service , public administration , political science , marketing , european union , law , computer science , artificial intelligence , economic policy
** : Citizens consider certain public (and private) services as essential services and therefore to be shielded from the full extent of market forces. Little is known about why some services are considered essential public services while other sometimes very similar services are not. In this article, we analyze public opinion using Eurobarometer data to test models exploring what factors determine whether citizens in 15 EU countries consider certain services as essential services and therefore to be provided to all. Despite the variety in public opinion, political orientations and geographic factors do little to explain why citizens have different opinions about the provision of public services. The article ends by outlining a research agenda for the further analysis of this underexplored research topic.