History of choice and competition

Using choice-based and competition-dependent models of public service provision is not new and has been a consistent strand of public service reform since the 1980s.

The Institute held a series of four high profile events, which explored what history can teach us about the politics and practicalities of developing public service markets across a range of sectors. Nick Timmins chaired panel discussions with former secretaries of state, officials, public service providers and academics who have been at the forefront of developing new market-based models. Video recordings of the series are available via the links below and the findings of the series are available in Choice and competition in public services: learning from History, which gathers the lessons of reforms in four sectors:

The Institute is also conducting further research on the history of choice, competition and public service markets, including: