The European Commission and its member states, along with many others, are wrestling with the problem of how to implement the scheduled liberalization of the postal sector while maintaining the universal service obligation. This book addresses some of these concerns. It is comprised of original essays chosen from among several dozen presented at the 13th Conference on Postal and Delivery Economics, which was held in Antwerp, Belgium, in June, 2005.

Universal Service Obligation.- The Welfare Effects of Entry and Strategies for Maintaining the USO in the Postal Sector.- Universal Service Obligations in the Postal Sector.- Profitability of the Universal Service Postal Provider Under Entry with Economies of Scale in Collection and Delivery.- On the Use of Cost Functions in the Assessment of the Impact of Liberalization on Postal Universal Service Burden.- Questioning the Monopoly-Supported Postal USO in Developing Countries.- Estimating the Net Cost of the.- Assessing the Cost of the Portuguese Postal Network.- Access and Worksharing.- Establishing Non-uniform Access Prices in the UK.- Worksharing: How Much Productive Efficiency, at What Cost and at What Price?.- Regulating Access to Stimulate Competition in Postal Markets?.- Enhancing Competition by Unbundling the Postal Administration.- Liberalization and Quality of Service.- The Economic Implications of Quality of Service Regulation in a Liberalized Postal Market.- Estimation of Consumers’ Willingness-to-pay for Quality of Service in Post.- Pricing Issues.- Pricing and Welfare Implications of Alternative Approaches to Setting Price Controls in the Postal Sector.- Pricing the Last Mile in the Postal Sector.- Demand Studies.- Forecasting Swiss Mail Demand.- Generational Analysis of Mail Users.- Legal and Regulatory Issues.- The New EC Framework for State Aid to Public Service and the Postal Sector.- Postal Services Regulation In Europe.- Benefit-Cost Regulation of Negotiated Service Agreements.- The “Real” Graveyard Spiral.- Postal Reform in Japan.- Competition Structure and Future Postal Reform in Japan.- The Privatization of Japan Post.