The Economics of the Postal and Delivery Sector

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-viii

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2. Competition in the Postal and Delivery Markets in Europe

   • Pier Luigi Parcu, Chiara Carrozza, Niccolò Innocenti, Anna Pisarkiewicz, Paula Gori

   Pages 1-17

3. Cartels in the Postal Industry: A Behavioral Theory Consideration of the Game Theory of Leniency Policies

   • Adam Goodman, Gráinne Murphy

   Pages 19-35

4. When a Price Cost Test Is Unnecessary for Assessing Pricing Abuses – The Royal Mail Case

   • Nathan Francis

   Pages 37-47

5. Data and the Regulation of E-commerce: Data Sharing vs. Dismantling

   • Claire Borsenberger, Helmuth Cremer, Denis Joram, Jean-Marie Lozachmeur, Estelle Malavolti

   Pages 49-66

6. An Assessment of USPS’ Negotiated Service Agreements and Platforms’ Direct Entry in Delivery

   • Victor Glass, Antonio Nicita, Stefano Gori

   Pages 67-80

7. Separate or Integrated? Least-Cost Parcel Delivery Methods in a Flexible Delivery Environment

   • Michael D. Bradley, Jeff Colvin, Mary K. Perkins

   Pages 81-93

8. Assessing Diversification in the Postal Sector

   • Timothy J. Brennan

   Pages 95-109

9. The Historical Contribution of Postal Service to Social Welfare in the United States

   • Edward S. Pearsall

   Pages 111-132

10. The Risks of Customer Data Processing Under the GDPR: The Austria Post Case

    • Alessandra Fratini

    Pages 133-144

11. The Universal Postal Union. Quo Vadis?

    • John Hearn

    Pages 145-161

12. Do We Need to Redefine the Legal Definition of the Postal Service?

    • Mateusz Chołodecki

    Pages 163-178

13. The Future of Services of General Economic Interest in the Postal Industry

    • Francesco Russo, Simona Romito, Stefano Gori

    Pages 179-191

14. Sustaining the USO in Canada: Toward a Case for Adapting Reserved Area Parameters in the Digital Age

    • Kevin Matthews, Christopher Schwartz

    Pages 193-204

15. Neither the Carrot nor the Stick: How to Ensure Adequacy of Traditional Postal Operators’ Funding in a Rapidly Transforming Market

    • Emanuele Frezza

    Pages 205-220

16. Has the Covid Pandemic Accelerated the Rate of Decline in Business Letters? Some Early and Preliminary Analysis and Thoughts

    • Catherine Cazals, Thierry Magnac, Frank Rodriguez, Jonathan Pope, Soterios Soteri

    Pages 221-237

17. A Method to Assess the Impact of the Universal Postal Service Obligation

    • Roberto Alimonti, Filippo Ippolito, Luigi Stammati

    Pages 239-250

18. Net Costs of USP’s Service Provision: Challenges for the Coming Decade

    • Felix Gottschalk, Matthias Hafner, Urs Trinkner

    Pages 251-267

19. The Climate Challenge: What Role Postal Operators Are Going to and Could Do to Mitigate It?

    • Claire Borsenberger, Denis Joram

    Pages 269-284

20. The Role of Postal Operators in the Circular Economy

    • Antonin Arlandis

    Pages 285-302

The book addresses the most recent challenges faced by the postal and delivery sector. This book includes original essays by prominent researchers and practitioners in the field of postal and delivery economics, originally presented at the 28th Conference on Postal and Delivery Economics held online, December 1-5, 2020.  Chapters discuss topics such as the sustainability of the universal service obligations (USO) quality of service, last mile solutions, competition in liberalized markets, data protection, environmental sustainability, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. This book will be a useful tool not only for graduate students and professors interested in postal and regulatory economics, but also for postal administrations, consulting firms, and federal government departments.  

• postal economics
• delivery operations
• e-commerce
• regulation
• universal service obligation
• universal service providers

• Robert Schuman Center for Advanced Studies, European University Institute, Firenze, Florence, Italy

  Pier Luigi Parcu

• School of Public Policy, University of Maryland-Baltimore County, Baltimore, USA

  Timothy J. Brennan

• Center for Research in Regulated Industries, Rutgers Business School, Newark, USA

  Victor Glass

Pier Luigi Parcu is part-time Professor at the European University Institute (Italy) and Area Director of the Florence School of Regulation Communications & Media. He is Director of the Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom and Director of the Florence Competition Program in Law and Economics. His research in the area of industrial organization and law and economics focuses on the interaction between regulation and antitrust in shaping firms’ behavior.

Timothy J. Brennan is professor of public policy and economics at University of Maryland, Baltimore County (US). He has published over 135 articles and book chapters, principally on antitrust and regulatory economics, including the electricity, telecommunications, postal, oil pipeline, and other infrastructure sectors. He also has a strong interest in the nexus between economics and philosophy, which he has applied to questions such as the ethics of discount rates and the role of consumer error in designing energy policy.

Victor Glass is a professor of professional practice in the finance and economics department at Rutgers Business School (US). He is the director of the Center for Research in Regulated Industries. For almost thirty years, he was responsible for forecasting demand and setting access rates for more than 1,100 telephone companies and was heavily involved in regulatory reform. He has published studies of market and regulatory issues that have appeared in academic journals and trade magazines.

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