Ownership and efficiency in municipal waste management: evidence from a fragmented local government system

Purpose This study examines whether ownership configurations of waste collection providers are associated with the efficiency of municipal waste management in Croatia. Design/methodology/approach A two-stage analysis of 443 local governments is applied. First, input-oriented data envelopment analysis (DEA) under variable returns to scale estimates cost and environmental-service efficiency. Second, fractional logit and truncated regression models examine the association between ownership configurations and efficiency outcomes while controlling for contextual factors. Findings Ownership-related patterns differ across performance dimensions. Internal ownership is negatively associated with cost efficiency in the baseline specification, but the disaggregated models locate this association in mixed ownership arrangements rather than fully local providers. Internal ownership is not significantly associated with environmental-service efficiency. Other-public provision is positively associated with environmental-service efficiency and, more weakly, with cost efficiency. Municipality-only models produce broadly similar patterns. Practical implications The findings do not support ownership change as an efficiency reform in its own right. Instead, they highlight the importance of governance diagnostics, such as clarifying decision rights, monitoring and accountability in mixed arrangements, and assessing provider capacity and cross-jurisdictional operating conditions, before drawing lessons from other public provision. Originality/value The study combines a dual-efficiency framework with a disaggregated ownership typology. Conceptually, it treats ownership categories as observable governance configurations that differ in principal structures and accountability relationships, showing why a binary public-private classification can conceal theoretically relevant heterogeneity across local public services.