Public preferences for government supply of public open space: A neo-institutional economic and lifecycle governance perspective

Abstract

There is a global trend urging countries to allow for and even rely on private supplies of public open spaces. However, the opinions of their end users have seldom been sought. Based on questionnaire surveys and hedonic price model, this study shows how the mode of governance (government or private supply), from a lifecycle perspective, affects the quality of and public preferences for government-owned open spaces (GOS) versus privately-owned open spaces (POS). Both stated preference and revealed preference approaches were used since triangulation of the results from both approaches can enhance the reliability of the conclusion. Theoretically, the high transaction costs of outsourcing POS through market contracts leave room for POS providers to optimize their own benefits at the expense of public interest. Based on the case of Hong Kong, the results showed that the public tends to prefer GOS over POS and this is consistently found in stated and revealed preferences. Parks and gardens in GOS were generally perceived to be the best performers, while POS excelled in landscaping but less so in social inclusiveness and vital activities. The preference-governance relationship is intricately affected by managerial capacity, fiscal situations, contracting costs, market competitiveness, characteristics of the quality attributes, etc.