Handbook Of Worldwide Postal Reform (advances In Regulatory Economics)

The postal and delivery sector has been the subject of considerable interest in recent years. This book brings together a number of contributions directed at understanding developments in the field of postal reform. The authors review the experience and plans of individual countries to provide some perspective on the problems faced in the area and the varied approaches being taken to address it. They also review key elements of policy and strategy that are important in this debate. Gradual change occurred throughout the world's postal systems during the 1990s and into the 21st century. These regulatory and legal developments, together with advances in micro-electronics, fiber optics, and with the possibility of electronic substitution, continue to have a major impact on the sector.Regulatory changes have been most visible in Europe with the approval of the 3rd Postal Directive for the European Union in 2008. However, Europe has not been alone in facing these changes, as reform legislation in the US has also attempted to respond to changes in postal markets with the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006 (PAEA). Similar trends toward restructuring and reform of the sector are evident in other countries as well. This comprehensive book analyses and describes the forces underlying these changes, the nature of the responses to them at the country and regional level and some of the major challenges that postal operators, postal customers and regulators are likely to encounter in the future. Scholars and students of regulation in general and those specifically interested in the postal and delivery sector will find this volume invaluable, as will policymakers and professionals within the industry. Copyright......Page 5 Contents......Page 6 Contributors......Page 8 Preface and acknowledgements......Page 10 1. Postal reform: introduction......Page 12 PART I Economic analysis of reform......Page 24 2. Interactions between regulatory and antitrust policies in a liberalized postal sector......Page 26 3. Pricing for postal access and worksharing......Page 43 4. An economic model of the regulatory structure created by the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006......Page 78 5. Economics of post office networks: strategic issues and the impact on mail demand......Page 91 6. Funding universal service obligations......Page 109 7. Calculating the net cost of the USO: a practical example from Norway......Page 121 PART II Transformation and innovation......Page 132 8. Reform of the United States Postal Service: an unfinished task......Page 134 9. Postal transformation: United States Postal Service builds a platform for fundamental future change......Page 154 10. Technological innovation and postal reform......Page 171 11. Postal reform and product innovation......Page 187 PART III Regional and country studies......Page 204 12. National postal policies in Europe on the eve of the Third Directive......Page 206 13. Economic factors underlying postal reform in the European Union......Page 227 14. EU law on postal services......Page 256 15. A brief history of the United States postal monopoly law......Page 273 16. Competition, wages and politics in the delivery sector: the case of postal minimum wages in Germany......Page 293 17. Liberalization and market performance: towards higher efficiency in Sweden......Page 309 18. The French postal market in the wake of the Postal Law of 2005......Page 327 19. United Kingdom postal services regulation......Page 352 20. The diverse characteristics of postal reforms in Asia: privatization, corporatization and liberalization......Page 366 21. How much postal reform in Japanese postal privatization?......Page 384 22. Postal reform in Australia......Page 399 23. Postal reform in developing countries: challenges and choices......Page 411 24. India Post: an agenda for restructuring and commercialization......Page 427 25. Postal reform in Israel......Page 437 Index......Page 456 The postal and delivery sector has been the subject of considerable interest in recent years. This book brings together a number of contributions directed at understanding developments in the field of postal reform. The authors review the experience and plans of individual countries to provide some perspective on the problems faced in the area and the varied approaches being taken to address them. They also review key elements of policy and strategy that are important in this debate.Gradual change occurred throughout the world's postal systems during the 1990s and into the 21st century. Regulatory and legal developments, together with advances in micro-electronics, fiber optics, and electronic substitution, continue to have a major impact on the sector. Regulatory changes have been most visible in Europe with the approval of the 3rd Postal Directive for the European Union in 2008. However, Europe has not been alone in facing these changes. Legislators in the US have also attempted to respond to changes in postal markets with the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006 (PAEA). Similar trends toward restructuring and reform of the sector are evident in other countries as well. This comprehensive book analyzes and describes the forces underlying these changes, the nature of the responses to them at national and regional levels, and some of the major challenges that postal operators, postal customers, and regulators are likely to encounter in the future.Scholars and students of regulation in general and those specifically interested in the postal and delivery sector will find this volume invaluable, as will policymakers and professionals within the industry. Features contributions directed at understanding developments in the field of postal reform. This work reviews the experience and plans of individual countries to provide some perspective on the problems faced in the area and the varied approaches being taken to address it. It also review key elements of policy and strategy that are important Edited By Michael A. Crew, Paul R. Kleindorfer, James .i. Campbell, Jr. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.