Regulatory and Economic Challenges in the Postal and Delivery Sector


Book Description

Worldwide, there is considerable interest in postal and delivery economics. Governments, particularly in the European Union, are examining closely the roles of the two systems and how best to regulate them. This volume brings together 20 essays originally presented at the 12th Conference on Postal and Delivery Economics held in Cork, Ireland in June 2004. Contributors include researchers, practitioners, and senior managers from throughout the world.




Progress toward Liberalization of the Postal and Delivery Sector


Book Description

The European Commission and its member states, along with many others, are wrestling with the problem of how to implement the scheduled liberalization of the postal sector while maintaining the universal service obligation. This book addresses some of these concerns. It is comprised of original essays chosen from among several dozen presented at the 13th Conference on Postal and Delivery Economics, which was held in Antwerp, Belgium, in June, 2005.




Reforming the Postal Sector in the Face of Electronic Competition


Book Description

'Professors Crew and Kleindorfer have once again assembled a valuable collection of essays that address timely and important issues in postal sectors throughout the world. The essays employ diverse methodologies to provide useful insights about recent and likely future developments in the postal industry. This book will be a valuable resource for researchers, industry practitioners, and policymakers alike.' – David E.M. Sappington, University of Florida, US In our increasingly technology-focused world, demand for traditional postal services is steadily shrinking. This timely volume examines the many challenges that the worldwide postal sector is facing as a result of growing electronic competition, and offers expert recommendations for reshaping postal structures to strengthen their competitiveness in an electronic age. Drawn from a selection of papers presented at the 20th Conference on Postal and Delivery Economics in Brighton, UK, this book showcases expert contributions on the rapidly changing postal sectors in both the United States and Europe. Topics discussed include the various financial challenges posed by decreasing demand for postal services, recent changes in how postal services are provided, and new structures and modes of operation, such as privatization, that are currently affecting the industry. Contributors offer a thorough breakdown of the issues as well as ideas for keeping the postal sector alive in a world that is growing ever more reliant on purely electronic means of communication. Economists with an interest in regulatory economics, innovation and public sector economics will find this volume useful and informative, as will institutional libraries and industry professionals.




Service Challenges, Business Opportunities, and Regulatory Responses in the Postal Sector


Book Description

This edited volume includes original essays by prominent researchers and practitioners in the field of postal and delivery economics, originally presented at the 31st Conference on Postal and Delivery Economics held in Gdańsk, Poland, May 24-26, 2023. The book primarily examines the impact of digital platforms on the postal and delivery sectors, exploring the intricate regulatory challenges and competitive dynamics associated with this digital transformation. Other important topics include the regulation of parcels and their environmental footprint, in light of the innovations affecting the so-called last mile, and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the postal sector, on both the global and local levels. Chapters also address postal costs, the funding of Universal Service Obligation (USO), and the related role of Universal Service Providers, especially in providing social services and facilitating digital inclusion. Finally, the impact of innovative technologies, such as AI, in the postal sector is discussed. This book is useful for graduate students and professors interested in postal and regulatory economics as well as postal administrations, consulting firms, and federal government departments.




The Future of the Postal Sector in a Digital World


Book Description

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.







The Postal and Delivery Contribution in Hard Times


Book Description

This book includes original essays by prominent researchers and practitioners in the field of postal and delivery economics, originally presented at the 29th Conference on Postal and Delivery Economics held online, September 1-3, 2021. The central focus of the book is the short and long-term impact of covid-19 pandemic on the sectors, both from the economic and regulatory perspectives. Other important topics include the unstoppable growth of e-commerce and the implications for delivery market; solutions for the “last mile”, and the associated challenges in terms of sustainability. Chapters also discuss traditional topics for postal and delivery sectors, such as the competitive dynamics in the sector, the business strategies of postal operators, as well as the definition and funding of the Universal Service Obligation. 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.




The Postal Services Bill


Book Description

In "Modernise or decline: policies to maintain the universal postal service in the United Kingdom" (Cm. 7529, ISBN 9780101752923) the Hooper review confirmed that Royal Mail Group was the only company capable of delivering the service and proposed a package to deal with the Group's problems. The state should take responsibility for the historic pension deficit; there should be a new regulatory regime, in which mail services would be regulated as part of wider communications services, and, most controversially, there should be a private sector equity partner in Royal Mail. The Government accepted these proposals (Cm. 7560, ISBN 9780101756020) and introduced the Postal Services Bill (HL Bill 24, ISBN 9780108454530). The Committee supports the proposals on the pension fund and the new regulatory regime. But it does not consider that the case has been made that these two reforms can only be made as part of a package which includes the third reform - the involvement of a private sector equity partner in Royal Mail. The provisions contained in the Bill allowing such a partnership are not necessary or desirable as the Government already has powers to sell shares to enable Royal Mail to participate in a joint-venture. There is a lack of clarity over how much investment is needed or where that investment will come from, while the Government appears to have no business plan and has not indicated the use to which any private sector capital would be put. Given this uncertainty the case must rest on its non-financial benefits, and the Committee poses several questions about the proposed partnership which must be addressed.




Reinventing the Postal Sector in an Electronic Age


Book Description

This compilation of original essays by an international cast of economists, regulators and industry practitioners analyzes some of the major issues now facing postal and delivery services throughout the world as competition from information and communication technologies (ICT) has increased. Competition has become increasingly important in the postal sector for some time in the form of alternative entrants providing mail delivery. However, the competition from ICT in the form of email and instant messaging, the Internet, Facebook and other forms of social networking and portable wireless devices such as the iPad and Kindle may be even more significant. Mail volumes are falling and the economies of scale that have made possible daily deliveries to every address are being eroded. This book assesses volume these declines resulting from this so-called eSubstituion and looks at the ways the postal sector can adapt to the rapid changes resulting from ICT. The impact of electronic invoicing on transactions mail, and the impact on bulk mail of electronic forms of advertising are examined. Strategies, including pricing and access policies, are discussed in the context of the increasing impact of ICT. A rethinking of the role of mail in an electronic age is taking place and this book provides the cutting-edge of this rethinking and the attempts of POs to reinvent themselves while continuing to meet the public s expectation of continuing ubiquitous daily deliveries of traditional mail products. Undergraduate and postgraduate students and researchers in regulation, competition law, innovation and public sector economics along with institutional libraries and industry professionals will find this volume informative and useful.