Regulation and the Nature of Postal and Delivery Services

This book is based on a conference on `Regulation and the Evolving Nature of Postal and Delivery Services: 1992 and Beyond' held at Village PTT, La Londe les Maures, France, on March 18, 1992. Leading practitioners, worldwide postal administrations, and the express delivery industry, as well as a number of regulators, academic economists, and lawyers examine the important policy and regulatory issues facing the postal and delivery industries. This includes such issues as: international postal policy and the role of the Universal Postal Union; regulation and terminal dues; competition, entry and the role of scale and scope economies; the nature and role of costs analysis in postal service; productivity; and service standards.

Authors and Discussants.- Preface and Acknowledgements.- 1 Issues Facing the International Postal Service.- 2 The Future of the Universal Postal Union.- Comments.- Comments.- 3 The Regulation of International Mail Services.- Comments.- 4 Nordic Measurements 1991: Service Performance and Terminal Dues Settlement.- 5 Franchise Bidding, Contracting Out, and Worksharing in the Production of Postal Services: Can They Collect, Sort, and Deliver?.- Comments.- 6 Competition, Efficiency, and the Vertical Structure of Postal Services.- Comments.- 7 Economies of Scale and Scope and Competition in Postal Services.- Comments.- 8 Measuring Product Costs for Ratemaking: The United States Postal Service.- Comments.- 9 Rural Delivery and the Universal Service Obligation: A Quantitative Investigation.- Comments.- 10 Remailing in the European Community: Economic Analysis of Alternative Regulatory Environments.- Comments.- 11 The International Mail Market in the 1990s.- Comments: Perennial Gales and the International Mail.- 12 Regulatory Systems For Postal Rates.- Comments.- 13 U.S. Postal Service Productivity: Measurement and Performance.- Comments.- 14 Policy Implications of Postal Network Access.- 15 Service Performance in the Postal Business.- Comments.- 16 Models of Reliability in Postal Services.- Comments.- 17 Measuring Performance in Mail Delivery.- Comments.