What is Rent-Seeking

The government's direct administration of public health facilities has proved to be bureaucratic and of low quality. Therefore, governments are trying new management models for some healthcare facilities using public-private partnerships (PPP). One kind of PPP is deployment of social organizations. Social organizations are nongovernmental nonprofit organizations created in Brazil, in the 1990s, engaged in such activities as teaching, research, technological development, or protection and conservation of the environment. Nonprofits enter PPPs created specifically for the purpose of running health facilities, and the state department of health monitors and evaluates contracts with them. This chapter's objective is to analyze the implementation process of the social organizations management program, focusing on the role played by factors such as administrative and financial autonomy, direction, innovative management practices, and gains in efficiency of the health facility. The chapter discusses differences between direct government management and administration by social organizations.