Papers by Kevin Albertson
Public Money & Management
This article theorizes some consequences of skewing relational (care) labour into more transactio... more This article theorizes some consequences of skewing relational (care) labour into more transactional forms of marketized public service areas; with particular reference to contracted criminal justice services in England and Wales. The authors attribute this to an interplay of the incentives of the corporate sector and those of governments which form a collective 'artificial intelligence' promoting marketization. This creates unintended consequences. Whereas corporate incentive structures minimize transaction costs and optimize profit, recent UK governments have incentivized economic productivity over socially beneficial indicators in public services. The article finds that narrowly transactional calculations of value in the commissioning of care services may produce short-term fiscal incentives for commissioners (usually the state) and corporate suppliers and 'care resellers', but generate longer-term supply-side problems. The article concludes by signposting how more pluralistic forms of collaboration among government, commerce and third sectors can be differently-and more socially-conceived. There are lessons to be learned in the article for all capitalist economies.
Public Money & Management, 2023
This article theorizes some consequences of skewing relational (care) labour into more transactio... more This article theorizes some consequences of skewing relational (care) labour into more transactional forms of marketized public service areas; with particular reference to contracted criminal justice services in England and Wales. The authors attribute this to an interplay of the incentives of the corporate sector and those of governments which form a collective 'artificial intelligence' promoting marketization. This creates unintended consequences. Whereas corporate incentive structures minimize transaction costs and optimize profit, recent UK governments have incentivized economic productivity over socially beneficial indicators in public services. The article finds that narrowly transactional calculations of value in the commissioning of care services may produce short-term fiscal incentives for commissioners (usually the state) and corporate suppliers and 'care resellers', but generate longer-term supply-side problems. The article concludes by signposting how more pluralistic forms of collaboration among government, commerce and third sectors can be differently-and more socially-conceived. There are lessons to be learned in the article for all capitalist economies.
Payment by Results and Social Impact Bonds, 2018
This chapter discusses some key theoretical issues that are raised by outcomes-based commissionin... more This chapter discusses some key theoretical issues that are raised by outcomes-based commissioning. It begins by outlining three potential theoretical drivers of outcomes-based commissioning. First, Payment by Results (PbR)/Pay for Success (PFS) and Social Impact Bonds (SIBs) can be viewed as the logical next step in the New Public Management (NPM) reforms aimed at improving public sector efficiency. Second, they can be explained as an attempt by policy makers to deal with complexity in the social world. Third, they can be interpreted as a means by which policy makers seek to facilitate and develop new and existing philanthropic activity and social enterprise. The chapter goes on to consider the underlying theories and objectives of outcomes-based commissioning as well as how practice and theory may differ, focusing on issues relating to perverse incentives, conflicting policy objectives, risk management, and contracting. Finally, it examines questions of delivery and outcomes.
There is a growing disaffection with mainstream politics in the world’s liberal democracies. In p... more There is a growing disaffection with mainstream politics in the world’s liberal democracies. In particular, the UK has become an increasingly divided nation; as evidenced by, for example, increasing inequality, an emphasis on individualism, the so-called North/South divide and the polarised debate about the UK’s leaving the European Union. Many leading UK politicians claim inheritance of the “Thatcher legacy” to legitimate their proposed policies, yet it is not clear what is that legacy. Thatcher’s policies, instituted in the 1980s and broadly pursued by subsequent governments, changed the economic and social outlook of the UK. Criticism of her record is taken to indicate one is a left-wing ideologue. Our contribution in the following is that we judge Thatcher’s policies by no standards other than her own. Utilising an holistic approach, we consider whether neo-liberal policies facilitated or undermined the UK’s achieving Thatcher’s stated moral outcomes: the growth of democratic ca...
Payment by Results and Social Impact Bonds, 2018
This chapter reviews the current state of evidence on what works in outcomes-based commissioning ... more This chapter reviews the current state of evidence on what works in outcomes-based commissioning using published evaluations of Payment by Results (PbR) and Social Impact Bonds (SIBs) in the UK and SIBs in the US. Findings from these evaluations are arranged under the following broad headings: designing and commissioning, development of markets, performance management, innovation, the role of incentives, and overall outcomes. The evaluations address issues such as the complexity of PbR commissioning models compared to other commissioning exercises, the impact of PbR on the market for social goods, and the development of new or enhanced performance management systems as a result of outcomes-based commissioning. Two areas of innovation are also highlighted: innovation in service design and delivery, and innovation in financing.
Marketisation and Privatisation in Criminal Justice, 2020
This chapter outlines the process of political innovation through which governments have coordina... more This chapter outlines the process of political innovation through which governments have coordinated other agencies and sectors to achieve often complex goals, for example, through the transfer of political and/or financial risk, and through attempts to include and motivate non-state organisations in a range of ways. It is this pursuit of innovation which underpins both the reasoning behind privatisation and marketisation, and the continued efforts to manage its consequences, both expected and unforeseen. The essays in this volume consider the scale and impact of marketisation and privatisation in the area of criminal justice. concepts of marketisation are reflections of an increasingly monopolistic neo-liberal hegemony which promises citizens a utopian political project for ensuring individual freedom (subject only to market forces), and private and social enterprise opportunities to bid as the state transforms from provider to auctioneer of public goods and services. This chapter summarises the analyses offered in this edited collection and contextualises these perspectives to develop our knowledge and understanding of the process of privatisation and marketisation, the impact of it and the extent to which newly marketised and privatised services result in ‘justice’.
This collection offers a comprehensive review of the origins, scale and breadth of the privatisat... more This collection offers a comprehensive review of the origins, scale and breadth of the privatisation and marketisation revolution across the criminal justice system. Leading academics and researchers assess the consequences of market-driven criminal justice in a wide range of contexts, from prison and probation to policing, migrant detention, rehabilitation and community programmes. Using economic, sociological and criminological perspectives, illuminated by accessible case studies, they consider the shifting roles and interactions of the public, private and voluntary sectors. As privatisation, outsourcing and the impact of market cultures spread further across the system, the authors look ahead to future developments and signpost the way to reform in a 'post-market' criminal justice sphere.
Marketisation and Privatisation in Criminal Justice, 2020
In this chapter we discuss the recent course of privatisation and marketisation in UK prisons and... more In this chapter we discuss the recent course of privatisation and marketisation in UK prisons and probation. Prior to the Transforming Rehabilitation, TR, agenda, its theoretical strengths and weakness were analysed in some detail in the literature. It is appropriate therefore to consider whether the aspirations implicit and explicit in TR have been achieved. Since 2010, the progress of marketisation in prisons and probation has been uneven. In prisons, Outcomes Based Commissioning, aka Payment by Results, PbR, contracts were proposed but are not used in any significant way; instead the emphasis has been on new and devolved models of commissioning rehabilitation services and the development of Reform prisons. In probation, marketisation – often involving elements of PbR – proceeded rapidly from a small-scale pilot to a national roll-out. However, this model has come in for significant criticism and now appears unsustainable in its current form. Government has cancelled existing contracts early and one provider has failed. We consider the various approaches taken in prison and probation policy and draw out the strengths and weaknesses of the approaches that have been tried, drawing on the available evidence. We finish with some thoughts on the future (or otherwise) of marketisation in this sector.
Responsibility Beyond Growth, 2020
This chapter explores why market-based policies, promoted under the prevailing global paradigm of... more This chapter explores why market-based policies, promoted under the prevailing global paradigm of “economic liberalism”, are not sufficient in and of themselves to facilitate human wellbeing in a stagnant world economy. It describes how, in theory, markets deliver efficient allocations of private (commodified) goods and services, yet in practice the conditions for this efficiency are seldom met.
University, successfully bid for an Armed Forces Covenant Fund grant designed to strengthen the l... more University, successfully bid for an Armed Forces Covenant Fund grant designed to strengthen the local government delivery of the Covenant. The two yearlong South Yorkshire Armed Forces Covenant project activities were designed to: The project began in consultation with the Armed Forces community across the region, which informed the development of a community-specific regional survey tool. The regional community survey results informed the local authority and regional Covenant Action planning events. Raise the awareness of Covenant initiatives and dedicated services availability; Enhance ownership of the process and improve connections across the region; Produce local authority Covenant Action Plans and a regional Action Plan; Commission military awareness training for front-line staff in South Yorkshire; Produce the South Yorkshire model for strengthening the regional delivery of Covenant pledges, ensuring a lasting and replicable project legacy.
Responsibility Beyond Growth, 2020
Innovation is generally considered to be the antidote to economic stagnation. But while the coupl... more Innovation is generally considered to be the antidote to economic stagnation. But while the coupling of ‘responsible' and 'innovation’ has been much discussed, that of 'responsible stagnation' has gone largely unexplored. In this book, we take this concept seriously as a means to question the political economy of science, technology and innovation, both as policy and as process, and the problems which arise from unquestioned emphasis on innovation as the means to increase GDP. The book argues that examining what 'responsible stagnation' might contribute opens new space in the growing global discussion about RI, incorporating innovation in non-market oriented processes, goods and services which have strong societal benefit but do not necessarily contribute to GDP. It examines the conundrum of diminishing productivity returns and increased environmental and social hazards associated with attempts to increase GDP, and how taking a growth-agnostic approach contri...
Payment by Results and Social Impact Bonds, 2018
This book examines outcomes-based commissioning as an important element of the public service ref... more This book examines outcomes-based commissioning as an important element of the public service reform agenda, focusing on Payment by Results (PbR) and Social Impact Bonds (SIBs) in the UK (also known as Pay for Success (PFS) or outcomes-based funding and Pay for Success financing in the US, respectively). It considers whether PbR/PFS and SIBs/Pay for Success financing drive efficiency and innovation in the delivery of social outcomes, and whether attempts to reconcile corporate profits and social goods may lead to perverse incentives and inefficiency. It also analyses the impact of PbR and SIBs on not-for-profit and smaller players in the market for social outcomes. This introduction provides an overview of outcomes-based commissioning, the distinction between PbR/PFS and SIBs/Pay for Success financing, some key questions raised by outcomes-based commissioning, and the chapters that follow.
Kevin Albertson FRSA explores the problems inherent in a Universal Basic Income and explains why ... more Kevin Albertson FRSA explores the problems inherent in a Universal Basic Income and explains why he strongly believes we need to do more.
Payment by Results and Social Impact Bonds
This chapter discusses the development of outcomes-based commissioning in the UK, focusing on Pay... more This chapter discusses the development of outcomes-based commissioning in the UK, focusing on Payment by Results (PbR) and Social Impact Bonds (SIBs). It first considers key policies that have underpinned outcomes-based commissioning in the UK since 2010 before analysing PbR programmes and SIBs in more detail, highlighting results and some of the important issues related to these areas of policy. It shows that the themes of New Public Management (NPM) and risk management are evident in the development of PbR and SIBs, whereas the theme of social innovation is present but less prominent. The chapter also provides an overview of the social investment market and two PbR programmes, namely, the Work Programme and the Troubled Families programme. Finally, it describes two SIBs: HMP Peterborough SIB and Nottingham Futures SIB.
Marketisation and Privatisation in Criminal Justice, 2020
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Papers by Kevin Albertson