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.