Postal Strategies in a Digital and Green Transition - Universal Service, Challenges, and Innovations

This volume presents original essays by leading researchers and practitioners in postal and delivery economics, drawn from the 32nd Conference on Postal and Delivery Economics, held in Berne (Switzerland), on 29-31 May 2024. The book explores the evolving dynamics of the postal and delivery sector in a rapidly changing digital and environmental landscape, offering insights into regulatory challenges, technological advancements, financial sustainability, competition, and policy innovation.
Building upon previous editions, this book continues to reflect the convergence of economic, technological, and regulatory transformations shaping the industry. It critically examines the future of postal services by addressing issues such as the evolution of the universal service obligations (USO) in the face of digital communication and parcel growth; the role of new pricing models, financial reforms, and regulatory frameworks in the sustainability of the sector; leveraging digital innovation and green transitions for improved efficiency, competition, and environmental performance; analytical and methodological approaches for optimizing postal networks and policy decisions.
As such, this book will be useful for graduate students and professors interested in postal and regulatory economics as well as postal administrations, consulting firms, and federal government departments.

List of contents

.- Section 1: The Foundations and Evolution of Universal Service Obligations (USO).
.- 1. Understanding ‘Universality’ in Postal Regulations: Evolving Meaning and Impact (Mateusz
Chołodecki).
.- 2. Fit for Purpose? A Four-Step Methodology for Evaluating Universal Service Obligations in the
Postal Sector (Mindaugas Cerpickis, Jacob Østermann, Stephanie Tizik).
.- 3. Impact of Changes to the USO (Christian Strobel, George Houpis, and Hamish Forsyth).
.- 4. Could and Should Electronic Communication Help Meet Universal Service Obligations?
(Timothy Brennan).
.- 5. Entitlement to USO Compensation in the Light of the Recent Caselaw in the Transport Sector
(Alessandra Fratini).
.- Section 2: Economic and Financial Sustainability of Postal Services.
.- 6. Is it Time to Revisit the USPS's Strategy for Financial Sustainability? (Victor Glass and Stefano
Gori).
.- 7. Revisiting the Pricing Scheme in the Postal Sector: A Way to Make Postal Activities and USO
Financially Sustainable? (Claire Borsenbgerger and Denis Joram.
.- 8. USO Net Costs and Economies of Scope Between Letters and Parcels (Ramon Gmür, Felix
Gottschalk, Matthias Hafner, and Urs Trinker).
.- Section 3: Competition and Market Dynamics in the Postal and Parcel Sector.
.- 9. Economic Insights into the Competitive Dynamics in the Parcel Delivery Sector (Alexander Gaigl,
David Jevons, Leonardo Mautino, and Bernhard Enzi).
.- 10. The Last Mile in the New Digitalized Era and the Postal Sector as a Natural Monopoly
(Dandoulaki Panagiota).
.- 11. Assessing the Impact of Subcontractors on Postal Market Regulation (Talat Güçlü, Betül Yilmaz,
Özhan Zurel, Muhammed Can Büyüktanir, and Müberra Oğuz).
.- 12. The Evolution of the Parcel Segment After the Pandemic (Stijn Braes, Özhan Zurel, and Jerry
Laurent).
.- 13. Exploring the Connections Between Postal Development and E-Commerce: A Global
Perspective (Anna Renata Pisarkiewicz, Leonardo Mazzoni, and Pier Luigi Parcu).
.- 14. Can the International ‘Postal Service’ Survive? (John Hearn).
Section 4: Evolving Policy Approaches and Innovation in the Postal Sector.
.- 15. Exploring the Use of Systems Thinking to Describe and Assess the UK’s Postal Market, with an
Example for Its Application (Matthew R. Thomas and David Levitt).
.- 16. Leveraging Hackathons for Policy Innovation in the Postal Sector (Anna Renata Pisarkiewicz
and José Anson).
.- 17. Digital Commons and Postal Operators: An Exploratory Approach (Adrien Raizonville and
Daphné Lacroix).
.- Section 5: Sustainability, Green Transitions, and Environmental Considerations.
.- 18. The Digital and Green Twin Transition in the Postal Sector: Synergies and Strategies for a
Sustainable Future (Yaxuan Chen, Juan Moroni, Susan Alexander, and Sergey Dukelskiy).
.- 19. Unleashing the Environmental Postal User (Annelise Berendt).
.- 20. Second-Hand C2C E-Commerce: What Does the Era of the Individual Seller Mean for Logistics
Operators? (Anne Pratx).
.- Section 6: Analytical and Spatial Approaches to Postal Network Optimization.
.- 21. Assessing the USO Impact on the Network Density Using Spatial Analysis Techniques (Bruno
Basalisco, Mindaugas Cerpickis, Lionel Gendebien, and Jacob Østermann).
.- 22. Using a Simple Monte Carlo Simulation to Explore the Relationship Between Number of Stops
and Travel Distance (Robert Cohen, Michael Leibert, Matthew Robinson, and Samuel Robison).
.- 23. Optimizing Distribution Networks with Application to the U.S. Postal Service (Edward S.
Pearsall).

About the author

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.
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.
Anna Renata Pisarkiewicz is a Research Fellow at the Centre for a Digital Society at the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies (European University Institute). She has over 10 years of experience in research and 4 years of experience in policy analysis in the area of competition law and sector-specific regulation. Her research interests encompass the areas of comparative competition law and policy across all sectors as well as economic regulation of network industries, in particular electronic communications.
Leonardo Mazzoni is a Research Associate at the Centre for a Digital Society at the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies (European University Institute). His research interests deal with Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Digital Transformation. He is co-author of national and international publications of recognized interest (among others Small Business Economics, Regional Studies, Industry and Innovation, Technology Analysis and Strategic Management, EPJ Data Science and International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal).

Summary

This volume presents original essays by leading researchers and practitioners in postal and delivery economics, drawn from the 32nd Conference on Postal and Delivery Economics, held in Berne (Switzerland), on 29-31 May 2024. The book explores the evolving dynamics of the postal and delivery sector in a rapidly changing digital and environmental landscape, offering insights into regulatory challenges, technological advancements, financial sustainability, competition, and policy innovation.
Building upon previous editions, this book continues to reflect the convergence of economic, technological, and regulatory transformations shaping the industry. It critically examines the future of postal services by addressing issues such as the evolution of the universal service obligations (USO) in the face of digital communication and parcel growth; the role of new pricing models, financial reforms, and regulatory frameworks in the sustainability of the sector; leveraging digital innovation and green transitions for improved efficiency, competition, and environmental performance; analytical and methodological approaches for optimizing postal networks and policy decisions.
As such, this book will be useful for graduate students and professors interested in postal and regulatory economics as well as postal administrations, consulting firms, and federal government departments.

Product details

• Assisted by: Timothy J. Brennan (Editor), Victor Glass (Editor), Timothy J Brennan (Editor), Leonardo Mazzoni (Editor), Leonardo Mazzoni et al (Editor), Anna Pisarkiewicz (Editor)
• Publisher: Springer International Publishing
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Release: 26.10.2025
• EAN: 9783032005014
• ISBN: 978-3-032-00501-4
• Illustrations: Approx. 300 p.
• Series: Topics in Regulatory Economics and Policy
• Subjects: Social sciences, law, business > Business > Individual industrial sectors, branches; E-Commerce, competition, Sustainability, Industrielle Organisation, Regulation, Delivery, Industrial Organization, Sector and Industry Studies, Regulation and Industrial Policy, USO, parcels, postal industry