Commercialization of Postal and Delivery Services: National and International Perspectives: 19 (Topics in Regulatory Economics and Policy, 19) - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 079239514X ISBN 13: 9780792395140

Publisher: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1994

Synopsis

xiii • We have almost the cheapest letter price in the OEeD. • We've quadrupled the retail outlets where you can buy stamps, but closed three quarters of our Post Offices. On time delivery is better than 97%. • The workforce has been reduced by 40%, with a 25% increase in volumes over the period. Real unit costs, measured by total real expenditure divided by total volumes, have been reduced by over 20%. What do these results and achievements mean for policy setters around the world? In particular, do these results for New Zealand Post prove that it is a commercial business, and what are the lessons for other postal businesses? Market Forces New Zealand Post presently has a limited letter monopoly, a 45 cent letter price against an 80 cent competitive floor price. The existence of this level of protection somehow negates the company's commercial achievements. The combination of high efficiency and low prices cannot persuade everyone that the results are not my view, are the only ones that can solely monopoly driven. Market forces, in answer my question: is New Zealand Post a commercial organization? We need the test offree and open competition to see whether we've got the business formula right. Before advancing this argument, which in essence is the case for deregulation, it may be useful to distinguish between market behavior and Post behavior.

About this title

Synopsis

This book brings together leading practitioners, world-wide postal administrations, and the express industry, as well as a number of regulators, academic economists, and lawyers to examine some of the important policy and regulatory issues facing the industry. This book addresses issues including international postal policy, 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 cost analysis in postal service; productivity; and service standards. This volume follows two earlier volumes by the same editors, "Competition and Innovation in Postal Services" (1991); and "Regulation and the Nature of Postal and Delivery Services (1992).

Edition details

• Publisher: Kluwer Academic Publishers
• Publication date: 1994
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 079239514X
• ISBN 13: 9780792395140
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 301
• Editor: Crew Michael A., Kleindorfer Paul R.