The term "privatization" refers to a wide range of activities. Those include:
CONTRACTING. The state contracts with a private organization, for-profit or nonprofit, to provide a service or part of a service.
FRANCHISE. A private fin-n is given the exclusive right to provide a service within a certain geographical area.
VOUCHERS. Government pays for the service. However, individuals are given redeemable certificates to purchase the service on the open market. These subsidize the consumer of the service, but services are provided by the private sector.
SUBSIDY. The producer of the service is subsidized by the government contributing financially or in-kind to a private organization to reduce the cost of private provision to consumers.
SERVICE OR "LOAD" SHEDDING. Government stops providing a service and lets the private sector assume the function.
ASSET SALE OR LEASE. Government sells assets such as airports, gas utilities, or real estate to private firms, thus turning physical capital into financial capital.
VOLUNTEERS. Volunteers are used to provide all or part of a government service.
SELF-HELP. Community groups and neighborhood organizations take over a service or government asset such as a local park. The new providers of the service are also directly benefiting from the service.
PRIVATE INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT AND OPERATION. The private sector builds, finances and operates public infrastructure such as roads and airports, recovering costs through user charges.
DEREGULATION. State regulations are eliminated from a government monopolized service to allow private providers of the service to compete.