Collective action and co-production of public services as alternative politics: The case of public transportation in Israel

Abstract

Can dissatisfaction with existing policies lead to the co-production of public goods and services? If so, under what conditions could such dissatisfaction lead to the co-production of public goods and services? We posit that when (1) citizens are dissatisfied with the policy as designed, (2) third-sector organisations are formed, and (3) politicians and street-level managers are engaged, the co-production of public goods and services will take place. Analysing the Israeli religion-based restrictions on public transportation on the Jewish Sabbath (Saturday), this study argues that the intentional lack of public transport on Saturdays is overall met with discontent within the population and, in turn, leads third-sector organisations and local authorities to combine forces to find solutions on the local level. We have employed various mixed methods tools (e.g. a public opinion survey, existing statistics, in-depth interviews, and textual analysis) in order to test the Israeli case as an illustrative, crucial case study.

Points for practitioners

• Limited public services impose burdens on disadvantaged groups, who are often those with fewer resources, causing societal dissatisfaction with policy and its implementation.
• Co-production is facilitated when dissatisfied citizens encourage third-sector organisations, politicians, and street-level managers to engage.
• Local co-production efforts are expected to cease when governments decide to supply the lacking services.