I have one comment based on casual observation rather than anything studied. In my work with public sector organizations, I have observed something of a transformation taking place such that government is less interested in perhaps providing direct service delivery and more interested in focusing on the core business of policy regulation and really focusing on the welfare of its constituents in some circumstances where it may see benefits from having other providers, on their behalf, for services, financing, or management skills. It's a tool that is certainly available, and I do see benefits from that in individual cases, though not in all cases.
Certainly we see and we have analogous examples from other sectors of our economy, such as the infrastructure market, for example.