Curriculum Guide · Courses

Professor Volokh

J.D. Seminar 498 | 3 credit hours

As governments have increasingly turned to private contractors to manage public services, privatization advocates have focused mostly on the possible cost savings and quality improvements achievable through the private sector. Opponents have expressed concerns over whether private contractors are truly accountable, and whether privatization of certain "core" governmental functions is consistent with public-law values or a liberal theory of justice. These concerns are most prominent in the context of the "privatization of force": the use of private contractors in areas such as prisons, military operations (in Iraq and elsewhere), and policing.

Because private management of public services is a species of delegation,the seminar will explore how concerns about privatization connect with concerns about delegation more generally. We will discuss how the private nature of a delegate matters to the expected costs and benefits of the delegation. We will also discuss non-consequentialist, justice-based arguments about delegation and privatization.

Recommended: Familiarity with administrative law is preferred but not required.

The seminar is open to both two- and three-credit students; two-credit students will write weekly discussion papers, while three-credit students will write a paper fulfilling the Upperclass Writing Requirement.