The Contribution of the Postal and Delivery Sector

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-x

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2. Academic Hubs and the Intellectual Infrastructure of Economic Regulation

   • William E. Kovacic

   Pages 1-11

3. On Some Historical Contributions of the Postal and Delivery Conference

   • Pier Luigi Parcu, Vincenzo Visco Comandini

   Pages 13-29

4. Michael Crew’s (and Paul Kleindorfer’s) Scholarly Contributions to the CRRI Postal Conferences, 1990–2012

   • Timothy J. Brennan

   Pages 31-45

5. DHL Express (Austria): Towards Legal Certainty on Article 9 and Applicable Obligations for Postal Service Providers

   • Alessandra Fratini

   Pages 47-60

6. Quantity Rebate Scheme: Applicability of “per sender” Reasoning for Corporate Groups

   • Til Rozman

   Pages 61-73

7. Regulation. Quo Vadis?

   • John Hearn

   Pages 75-88

8. PAEA’s Take on Regulatory Economics

   • Edward S. Pearsall

   Pages 89-102

9. Are European Cross-Border Parcel Delivery Services Affordable?

   • Claire Borsenberger

   Pages 103-114

10. The 2016 European Commission Proposal for a Regulation on Cross-Border Parcels: An Assessment of the Objectives, Background, Issues and Potential Impacts

    • Philip Groves

    Pages 115-128

11. E-commerce of Goods: Testing the European Single Market

    • Paula Gori, Virginia Silvestri

    Pages 129-143

12. How E-commerce Is Shaping a New Consumer-Focused Regulatory Framework for the European Parcel Delivery Market

    • Virginie Alloo

    Pages 145-159

13. Life After Volume Declines: Is There a Viable Future for the Postal Sector?

    • Adam C. Houck

    Pages 161-173

14. Analysis of the Effect of Management Quality Variables in Delivery Cost Functions

    • Catherine Cazals, Thierry Magnac, Soterios Soteri

    Pages 175-186

15. Postal Users’ Needs Regarding Accessibility to the Postal Network

    • João Confraria, Filipa Silva, Frederico Pereira, Agostinho Franco

    Pages 187-205

16. Kill Your Darlings: When Does Sacrificing Next-Day Delivery Help USO Sustainability?

    • Henrik Ballebye Okholm, Mindaugas Cerpickis, Anna Möller Boivie, Bruno Basalisco

    Pages 207-221

17. The Pricing of Cross-Border Parcel Delivery Services

    • Claire Borsenberger, Lisa Chever, Helmuth Cremer, Denis Joram, Jean-Marie Lozachmeur

    Pages 223-239

18. Pricing and Efficiency Decisions for Letter and Parcel Markets When Industrial Relations Matter

    • Philippe De Donder, Frank Rodriguez, Soterios Soteri

    Pages 241-255

19. The Impact of Competition on Consumer Prices for Cross-Border Parcels

    • Sonja Thiele, Alex Kalevi Dieke

    Pages 257-269

20. Adjusting Rates for Quality of Service: Have Market-Dominant Mail Rates Risen Faster than the CPI-U?

    • Edward S. Pearsall

    Pages 271-285

This book addresses major issues facing postal and delivery services throughout the world. Worldwide, there is currently a considerable amount of interest in postal and delivery economics. The industry is in a state of near crisis and drastic change is needed. The European Commission and member States are still wrestling with the problem of how to implement entry liberalization into postal markets, how to address digital competition, and how to maintain the universal service obligation (USO). The Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006 in the U.S. has perhaps created and exacerbated the problems faced by USPS.   Post Offices (POs) have been slow to address the threat of electronic competition. On the other hand, e-commerce presents opportunities for POs to expand their presence in parcel delivery and perhaps help finance or redefine the USO. A major aim of this book is to address strategies POs can use to reinvent themselves for the digital age.This book compiles original essays by prominent researchers in the field, which will be selected and edited from papers presented at the 25th Conference on Postal and Delivery Economics held in Barcelona, Spain, May 24-27, 2017. That conference, and this volume, commemorates the memory of Michael Crew who organized twenty-four prior conferences and co-edited previous conference volumes.  This book is a useful tool not only for graduate students and professors, but also for postal administrations, consulting firms, and Federal Government departments.

• postal regulation
• parcel delivery
• e-commerce
• delivery liberalization
• postal network
• postal sector

• European University Institute, RSCAS, Florence School of Regulation Communication & Media, Florence, Italy

  Pier Luigi Parcu

• School of Public Policy, UMBC, Baltimore, USA

  Timothy Brennan

• Rutgers Business School, Newark, USA

  Victor Glass

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