The Future of the Postal Sector in a Digital World

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xiii

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2. Price Cap Regulation and Declining Demand

   • Timothy J. Brennan, Michael A. Crew

   Pages 1-17

3. Scale Economies and Postal Price Caps in Europe: Declining Volumes, Lower Productivity, Higher Postage?

   • Antonia Niederprüm, Christian M. Bender, Alex Kalevi Dieke

   Pages 19-28

4. Origins of “Universal Service”

   • Chris Rowsell

   Pages 29-41

5. Implications of Recent Developments in e-Commerce for Universal Service Providers and the USO

   • John Hearn

   Pages 43-58

6. Which Universal Service Obligation Attributes Do Americans Value?

   • Jennifer Bradley, Michael D. Bradley, Jeff Colvin

   Pages 59-74

7. Impact of Market Dynamics on the Net Cost of the USO

   • Dariusz Nehrebecki, Leonardo Mautino, Gavin Knott

   Pages 75-90

8. Innovation, Disruption, and Partnering: Changing the DNA of Posts from the Inside Out

   • Adam C. Houck

   Pages 91-102

9. Postal Strategies in a Digital Age

   • Christian Jaag, Jose Parra Moyano, Urs Trinkner

   Pages 103-120

10. Case Studies in End-to-End Delivery Competition

    • Philip Groves, Steven Cape

    Pages 121-136

11. Promoting Competition at the Digital Age with an Application to Belgium

    • Pierre Copée, Axel Gautier, Mélanie Lefèvre

    Pages 137-152

12. Compensation Fund Under EU Law: A Suitable Solution for the Postal Market?

    • Alessandra Fratini

    Pages 153-167

13. The Shape of Postal Inefficiency

    • Margaret M. Cigno, John P. Klingenberg, Edward S. Pearsall

    Pages 169-189

14. Differentiated Pricing of Delivery Services in the e-Commerce Sector

    • Claire Borsenberger, Helmuth Cremer, Philippe De Donder, Denis Joram

    Pages 191-211

15. Mode of Delivery and Customer Response to Advertising Mail

    • Michael D. Bradley, Laraine Balk Hope, John Pickett

    Pages 213-229

16. Commercial and Regulatory Challenges for Postal e-Services in Switzerland

    • Christian Jaag, Martin Maegli, Denis Morel

    Pages 231-245

17. Demand and Regulation for e-Commerce in Goods

    • Heikki Nikali, Juri Mattila, Ilona Rintanen, Ville Huuhtanen

    Pages 247-260

18. Personal Data and Privacy Issues and Postal Operators Stand

    • Claire Borsenberger, Denis Joram, Olaf Klargaard, Philippe Regnard

    Pages 261-270

19. Using Market Research to Analyze Consumer Preferences

    • Stefano Gori, Bianca M. Martinelli, Gennaro Scarfiglieri

    Pages 271-281

20. An Economist’s Perspective on Terminal Dues

    • Henrik Ballebye Okholm, Anna Möller Boivie, Bruno Basalisco, Julia Wahl

    Pages 283-294

Worldwide, postal operators have been slow to address the threats from and opportunities created by electronic competition.  The European Commission and member states are wrestling with these issues, while at the same time continuing to deal with the interrelated issues of implementing entry into postal markets and maintaining the universal service obligation. The Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006 in the U.S. exacerbated financial and managerial problems faced by USPS that result in part from electronic substitution for letter delivery. A major aim of this book is to examine policies to address postal operations in a digital world and ways in which postal operators might reinvent themselves to respond to threats and exploit opportunities. Potential opportunities examined include parcels, e-commerce, digital delivery, regulatory innovations and pricing. This book will be of interest to postal operators, regulatory commissions, consulting firms, competitors and customers, experts in the postal economics, law, and business, and those charged with the responsibility for designing and implementing postal sector policies. Researchers in regulatory economics, transportation technology and industrial organization will also find considerable food for thought in this volume.

• Couriers
• Electronic correspondence
• Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act
• Postal sector
• USPS
• Universal service obligation

• Rutgers Business School, Rutgers University, Newark, USA

  Michael Crew

• School of Public Policy, University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC), Baltimore, USA

  Timothy J. Brennan

Timothy J. Brennan holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Wisconsin, and is Professor of Public Policy and Economics at University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC). His primary teaching and research fields include Antitrust, Regulation, Industrial Organization, Law and Economics, Energy Policy and Communications Policy. Michael A. Crew holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Bradford, and is Distinguished Professor and CRRI Professor of Regulatory Economics at Rutgers University. His primary research fields include Postal Service Economics, Regulatory Economics, Telecommunication Economics, Utility Deregulation and Diversification.

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