Abstract
Lighthouse and the Trinity House case have triggered extensive debate on the possibility of private production of public goods and, more especially, lighthouse services provision. This contribution sums up current academic debate about lighthouse provision. It shows that the English system of lighthouse services provision cannot be rigorously considered as an example of private provision. Some historical experiences have shown that private provision was possible, although governmental hindrances restrained a full-fledged market process provision. This contribution defends the interest of mobilizing a political economy perspective for an understanding of the different frameworks and institutional designs for providing such services. Some national cases illustrate and sustain the proposed political economy framework.
Acknowledgement
The author wishes to thank two anonymous reviewers for their comments and suggestions, which have helped him improve the manuscript. I also wish to thank Professor P. Garello for his encouragement to keep working on this issue. The usual caveat applies.
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Note
A first version of this manuscript was presented during the Public Choice Societies Second World Congress, Hyatt Regency Miami, Florida, 8–11 March 2012 and the Political Economy and the Outlook for Capitalism, Joint Conference AHE, IIPPE, FAPE, Austrian Economics in Heterodoxy, Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, Paris, 5–7 Juillet 2012.
©2014 by De Gruyter
