Abstract
The provision of universal postal service at a uniform tariff is a central feature of the postal industry in nearly all developed countries. The universal service obligation (USO) so defined is fulfilled typically by a universal service provider (USP), which is granted a reserved area over part of the mail market as a way to fund the USO. The scope of this monopoly is under review in many countries as governments and regulatory authorities move towards the promotion of competition in the postal market as a way to improve efficiency and broaden the range of choice for consumers. In Europe, both national governments and the European Union have taken steps in this direction. The 1997 Postal Directive lowered the reserved area to 350g at the same time as proposing studies of the postal market with a view to introducing a further round of liberalization to come into effect in 2003 (Official Journal, L15/14 (1998)).
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Reay, I., Robinson, R., Rodriguez, F., Liddiard, P. (2001). Estimation of the Potential Impact of Cross-Border Liberalization. In: Crew, M.A., Kleindorfer, P.R. (eds) Future Directions in Postal Reform. Topics in Regulatory Economics and Policy Series, vol 38. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-1671-2_2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-1671-2_2
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