Public services is a term usually used to mean services provided by government to its citizens, either directly (through the public sector) or by financing private provision of services. A service is the non-material equivalent of a good. A service provision is an economic activity that does not result in Ownership, and this is what differentiates For the government of parliamentary systems see Executive (government. The public sector is the part of economic and administrative life that deals with the delivery of goods and services by and for the Government, whether national Regional The term is associated with a social consensus (usually expressed through democratic elections) that certain services should be available to all, regardless of income. Democracy is a form of government in which the supreme power is held completely by the people under a free electoral system Income, refers to consumption opportunity gained by an entity within a specified time frame which is generally expressed in monetary terms Even where public services are neither publicly provided nor publicly financed, for social and political reasons they are usually subject to regulation going beyond that applying to most economic sectors. This article is for the legal term For regulation of genes see Regulation of gene expression. The Economy may be classified into subdivisions called sectors (also called Industries) in several ways Public services is also a course that can be studied at college and/or university. These courses can lead entry in to the: police, ambulance and fire services.
It is also an alternative term for civil service. See also Bureaucrat The term civil service has two distinct meanings Branch of governmental service in which individuals are hired on the basis
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Sectors
Public services tend to be those considered so essential to modern life that for moral reasons their universal provision should be guaranteed, and they may be associated with fundamental human rights (such as the right to water). A moral is a message conveyed or a lesson to be learned from a story or event Human rights refers to the "basic Rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled An example of a service which is not generally considered an essential public service is hairdressing. Haircut redirects here For the financial term see Haircut (finance.
In modern, developed countries the term public services often includes,
Characteristics
A public service may sometimes have the characteristics of a public good (being non-rivalrous and non-excludable), but most are merit goods, that is, services which may (according to prevailing social norms) be under-provided by the market. The term developed country, or advanced country, is used to categorize countries with developed Economies in which the tertiary and quaternary sectors For the band see Broadcast (band Broadcasting is the distribution of audio and/or Video signals which transmit Education encompasses both the Teaching and Learning of Knowledge, proper conduct, and technical competency Firefighters are rescuers extensively trained primarily to put out hazardous Fires that threaten civilian populations and property to rescue people from car accidents collapsed This page is about the physical properties of gas as a state of matter Health care is the prevention treatment and management of illness and the preservation of mental health through the services offered by the medical, Nursing A military is an Organization authorized by its Nation to use force usually including use of Weapons in defending its Country (or by attacking Police are agents or agencies usually of the executive, empowered to enforce the law and to effect public and social order through the legitimatized use of force Public housing is a form of Housing tenure in which the property is owned by a Government authority which may be central or local Waste management is the collection Transport, processing, Recycling or disposal of Waste materials Water is a common Chemical substance that is essential for the survival of all known forms of Life. In Economics, a public good is a good that is non-rivaled and non-excludable. In Economics, a good is considered either rivalrous (rival or nonrival. In Economics, a good or service is said to be excludable when it is possible to prevent people who have not paid for it from enjoying its benefits and non-excludable A merit good in Economics is a commodity which is judged that an individual or society should have on the basis of a norm other than respecting consumer preferences Social norms have been defined as "the rules that a group uses for appropriate and inappropriate values beliefs attitudes and behaviors Sao Paulo Stock Exchangejpg|thumb| Virtual market arena where buyer and seller are not present and trade via intemediates and electronical information In most cases public services are services, i. A service is the non-material equivalent of a good. A service provision is an economic activity that does not result in Ownership, and this is what differentiates e. they do not involve manufacturing of goods such as nuts and bolts. A nut is a type of Hardware Fastener with a threaded hole Nuts are almost always used opposite a mating bolt to fasten a stack of parts together They may be provided by local or national monopolies, especially in sectors which are natural monopolies. Natural monopoly is a term used in Economics to refer to two different things
They may involve outputs that are hard to attribute to specific individual effort and/or hard to measure in terms of key characteristics such as quality. They often require high levels of training and education. They may attract people with a public service ethos who wish to give something to the wider public or community through their work and are prepared to work harder for less pay as a result. (John Kenneth Galbraith has looked at the role of such "public virtue" in economic growth. )
History
Historically, the widespread provision of public services in developed countries usually began in the late nineteenth century, often with the municipal development of gas and water services. History is the study of the past particularly the written record Those who study history as a Profession are called Historians Etymology A township (or Municipality) is a settlement which has the status and powers of a unit of local government This page is about the physical properties of gas as a state of matter Water is a common Chemical substance that is essential for the survival of all known forms of Life. Later, other services such as electricity and healthcare began to be provided by governments. Health care is the prevention treatment and management of illness and the preservation of mental health through the services offered by the medical, Nursing In most developed countries such services are still provided by local or national government, the biggest exceptions being the U.S. and the UK, where private provision is more significant. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Nonetheless, such privately-provided public services are often strongly regulated, for example (in the US) by Public Utility Commissions. A Utilities commission, Utility Regulatory Commission (URC Public Utilities Commission (PUC or Public Service Commission (PSC is a governing body that
In developing countries public services tend to be much less well developed. Developing countries are countries that haven't reached Western-style standards of democratic government free market economy industrialization social programs and human rights guaranties Water services, for example, may only be available to the wealthy middle class. Wealth derives from the old English word "weal" which means "well-being The middle class, in colloquial usage consists of those who have some economic independence but not a great deal of social Influence or power. For political reasons the service is often subsidised, which reduces the finance available for expansion to poorer communities. Politics Politics is the process by which groups of people make decisions In Economics, a subsidy (also known as a subvention is a form of financial assistance paid to a business or economic sector Poor is an Adjective related to a state of Poverty, low Quality or Pity.
Nationalization
Nationalization really took off following the World Wars of the first half of the twentieth century. Nationalization, also spelled nationalisation, is the act of taking an industry or assets into the Public ownership of a national government Across Europe, because of the extreme demands on industries and the economy, central planning was required to ensure the maximum degree of efficient production was obtained. A planned economy or directed economy is an Economic system in which the Government or Workers' councils manages the Economy. Many public services, especially electricity, gas and public transport were products of this era. Following the second world war, many countries also began to implement universal health care and expanded education under the funding and guidance of the state. Universal health care is health care coverage which is extended to all eligible residents of a governmental region
Privatization
There are several ways to privatise public services. Privatization is the incidence or process of transferring ownership of business from the Public sector (government to the Private sector (business A free-market corporation may be established and sold to private investors, relinquishing government control altogether. This essentially ends the public service and makes it a private service. Another option, used in the Nordic countries, is to establish a corporation, but keep ownership or voting power essentially in the hands of the government. The Nordic countries make up a region in Northern Europe called the Nordic region, consisting of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, For example, the Finnish state owns 49% of Kemira, the rest being owned by private investors. Finland, officially the Republic of Finland ( is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of northern Europe. Kemira ( is a chemical industry group that consists of four business areas A 49% share doesn't make it a "government enterprise", but it means that all other investors together would have to oppose the state's opinion in order to overturn the state's decisions in the shareholder's meeting. Regulated corporation can also acquire permits on the agreement that they fulfill certain public service duties. When a private corporation runs a natural monopoly, then the corporation is typically heavily regulated, to prevent abuse of monopoly power. Natural monopoly is a term used in Economics to refer to two different things Lastly, the government can buy the service on the free market. In many countries, medication is provided in this manner: the government reimburses part of the price of the medication. Medication, also referred to as medicine, can be loosely defined as any substance intended for use in the diagnosis cure mitigation treatment or prevention of disease Also, bus traffic, electricity, healthcare and waste management are privatized in this way. One recent innovation, used in the UK increasingly as well as Australia and Canada is public-private partnerships. Public-private partnership ( PPP) describes a government service or private business venture which is funded and operated through a partnership of government and one or more This involves giving a long lease to private consortia in return for partly funding infrastructure.
Public services versus Services of General Interest
At the European level, some countries use the name service of general interest, while other prefer public services. The common good is a term that can refer to several different concepts It has been a discussion, for instance during the writing of the european constitution (the word services of general interest has been used). The Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe (TCE commonly referred to as the European Constitution, was an unimplemented international Treaty intended Many people feel this way.
Also most see the two names as synonyms, the services of general interest doesn't imply that the "public services" are delivered by public servants, but can also be delivered by a private company. ETUC named its petition "for high quality public services" but explains "Public services are known as Services of general interest (SGI) and Services of general economic interest (SGEIs) in European Union terminology. The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC is a Trade union organization which was established in 1973 to represent workers and their national affiliates at the "
See also
- Public ownership
- Public policy
- Privatization
- Public service broadcasting
- Services of General Interest (SGI)
- Welfare state
- Public value
- New Public Management
- European Community regulation
- CEEP European Centre of Enterprises with Public Participation and of Enterprises of General Economic Interest
- VÖWG Austrian Association for Public and Social Economy
- Service
External links
- Daniel Chavez (ed), Beyond the Market: The Future of Public Services, TNI Public Services Yearbook 2005/6, Trans National Institute (TNI) / Public Services International Research Unit (PSIRU), February 2006
- European Centre of Enterprises with Public Participation and of Enterprises of General Economic Interest
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