The Future of the Postal Sector in a Digital World (eBook)

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.

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.