also contracted-out services

Services paid for by one body, for example a UK local authority, but provided under contract by an outside supplier. This is contrasted with services provided by direct labour, employed by the authority. Examples include refuse collection, office cleaning, and the provision of school meals. The argument for contracting-out of services is that it introduces competition in their provision, which should make them cheaper. Critics of contracted-out services argue that this may be at the expense of quality. Supporters of the system argue that quality criteria can be built into the contracts, and that it may in fact be easier to ensure compliance with quality standards by outside suppliers with a legally enforceable contract than by a well-unionized direct labour force.

• lock-out
• locomotive principle
• logarithm
• logarithmic scale
• logistic curve
• log-linear function
• log-normal distribution
• log-rolling
• Lomé Convention
• London Inter Bank Offered Rate
• London International Financial Futures and Options Exchange
• long-dated security
• long position
• long rate
• long run
• long-run average cost
• long-run marginal cost
• long-run Phillips curve
• long-term interest rate
• long-term unemployment
• Lorenz curve
• loss
• loss leader
• Louvre Accord
• loyalty, brand