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 Gdask, 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.

Offers a wide understanding of the most recent evolution of the postal and delivery sectors Encompasses both regulatory and economic perspectives Includes contributions from scholars and practitioners

Autorentext

Pier Luigi Parcu is part-time Professor at the European University Institute (Italy) and Director of the Centre for a Digital Society and of the Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom. Previously, he worked as Director of Investigation at the Italian Competition Authority (AGCM), Chief Economist at the Italian Security and Exchange Commission (CONSOB), Economist at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and CEO of the Italian System Operator. His research addresses the democratic and economic challenges associated with digital platforms, as part of his broader interest in innovation dynamics in the digital economy and in emerging technologies. He is frequently invited as expert by European and international institutions and has extensively published books and articles in the fields of telecommunications, postal & delivery sectors, antitrust, and media.

Victor Glass is Professor of Professional Practice in the Finance and Economics Department at Rutgers Business School (US). He is also Director of the Center for Research in Regulated Industries (CRRI). For almost thirty years, he was responsible for forecasting demand and setting access rates for more than 1,100 telephone companies and was heavily involved in regulatory reform. He has published studies on market and regulatory issues that have appeared in academic journals and trade magazines.

Timothy J. Brennan is Professor Emeritus in the School of Public Policy at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (US). He has published over 135 articles and book chapters, principally on antitrust and regulatory economics, including the electricity, telecommunications, postal, oil pipeline, and other infrastructure sectors. His current research focuses on competition policy, particularly vertical integration and structuring abuse of dominance cases, and on regulatory pricing and methods. He also has a strong interest in the nexus between economics and philosophy, which he has applied to questions such as the ethical underpinnings of climate policy.

Inhalt

Universal postal service as a business opportunity.- Designation Of A Universal Service Provider In The EU Should One Size Fit All.- E-commerce parcel delivery, the unwanted guest at the USO table? An empirical study covering ten markets in Europe.- Is the universal service for letters sustainable.- Wheres my post? : A cross-country analysis of delivery frequency under the USO' : An exploration of the impacts of changes to frequency of delivery days.- Ramsey pricing as a method to financing the universal service obligation.- On the correct Net Avoided Cost (NAC) methodology to be applied in the postal sector.- UK postal parcel traffic price elasticities: Intensive and extensive margins and selection bias.- Econometric Fits of a Linear-Integral-Equation VEC Model to Produce Short-Term Postal Forecasts.- Lessons learned from USPS's requests for prices increases to offset Inflation.- A Preliminary Evaluation of Self-Declared Terminal Dues.- Non-material damages for GDPR infringements after the Austria Post judgment.- The effects of artificial intelligence technologies on postal operators.- Worldwide e-commerce development: after the Covid-19 and the current economic crisis, could we expect a catch-up and convergence between countries?.- Brexit, Covid and UK International Postal Parcel Volumes.- Benchmarking the impact of COVID-19 on Postal Operations to Determine if they are Temporary or Structural.- Entry in parcel markets: applying Fudenberg and Tirole's taxonomy.- The role of parcel lockers in the last-mile delivery.- Testing for elderly fragility: a valuable public policy and an opportunity for postal operators.- Unifying Product Costing And Product Carbon Emissions Methods.- Comparable sustainability reporting standards and carbon footprint reporting by postal operators in practice.- The decoupling phenomenon: do postal operators play a role on it.- The Appropriate Division of Regulatory Labor.