Editing Privatization (section)

== Definition ==
The word ''privatization'' may mean different things depending on the context in which it is used. It can mean moving something from the public sphere into the private sphere, but it may also be used to describe something that was always private, but heavily regulated, which becomes less regulated through a process of [[deregulation]]. The term may also be used descriptively for something that has always been private, but could be public in other jurisdictions.<ref>{{Cite journal| volume = 28| issue = 5| page = 1507| last = Beerman| first = Jack| title = Privatization and Political Accountability| journal = Fordham Urban Law Journal| url=https://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/ulj/vol28/iss5/2/ |date = 2001-01-01}}</ref>

There are also private entities that may perform public functions. These entities could also be described as privatized. Privatization may mean the government sells state-owned businesses to private interests, but it may also be discussed in the context of the privatization of services or government functions, where private entities are tasked with the implementation of government programs or the performance of government services. [[Gillian E. Metzger]] has written that: "Private entities [in the US] provide a vast array of social services for the government; administer core aspects of government programs; and perform tasks that appear quintessentially governmental, such as promulgating standards or regulating third-party activities." Metzger mentions an expansion of privatization that includes health and welfare programs, public education, and prisons.<ref name=metzger>{{Cite journal| pages = 1367–1502| last = Metzger| first = Gillian| title = Privatization as Delegation| journal = Colum. L. Rev.|  url=https://scholarship.law.columbia.edu/faculty_scholarship/144/ |date = 2003-01-01| volume = 103| issue = 6| doi = 10.2307/3593390| jstor = 3593390}}</ref>