Abstract
Throughout the world, governments have endowed their post office with a statutory monopoly. In return, the post office is typically obligated to provide the country with (i) universal access to the postal network, (ii) universal free delivery, and, since the time of Rowland Hill, (iii) a uniform letter rate for delivery anywhere within the country, including the most remote and sparsely populated areas.1
1The focus of this paper is on whether the obligation to deliver to sparsely populated rural areas requires monopoly protection. All conclusions are limited to the United States. It is hoped, however, that some of the analysis and ideas herein may be useful to other countries as well.
2In the United States, rural delivery carriers sell stamps, collect outgoing letters and provide other acceptance functions to rural delivery service could also restrict access to the postal network for some rural residents.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Board of Governors. 1973. U. S. Postal Service, The Private Express Statutes and Their Administration, Report to the President. 29 June 1973.
Cohen, R. H., W. W. Ferguson, and S. S. Xenakis. 1993a. “Rural Delivery and the Universal Service Obligation: A Quantitative Investigation,” in Regulation and the Nature of Postal and Delivery Services, edited by M. A. Crew and P. R. Kleindorfer. Boston: Kluwer.
Cohen, R. H., W. W. Ferguson, and S. S. Xenakis. 1993b. “A Cost Comparison of Serving Rural and Urban Areas in the United States Postal Service.” Wissenschafliches Institut für Kommunikationsdienste, Diskussionbeiträge Nr. 114. Bad Honnef.
Haldi, J. 1993. “Measuring Performance in Mail Delivery,” in Regulation and the Nature of Postal and Delivery Services, edited by M. A. Crew and P. R. Kleindorfer. Boston: Kluwer.
Harlow, A. F. 1928. Old Post Bags New York: D. Appleton.
King, C. W. 1990. Direct testimony on behalf of Dow Jones before the U. S. Postal Rate Commission in Docket No. R90–1, DJ-T-1, filed July 16, 1990.
Lander, D. 1989. “Bringing Postal Services into the Information Age: A Canadian View,” paper presented at Brookings Institution Postal Forum.
Leech, D. and W. L. Nicholson. 1879. The Post Office Department of the USA: Its History, Organization and Workings from the Inauguration of the Federal Government, 1789, to the Close of the Administration of President Andrew Johnson New York: Judd and Detweiler.
Panzar, J. C. 1991. “Is Postal Service a Natural Monopoly?” in Competition and Innovation in Postal Service, edited by M. A. Crew and P. R. Kleindorfer. Boston: Kluwer.
Panzar, J. C. 1993. “Competition, Efficiency and the Vertical Structure of Postal Services,” in Regulation and the Nature of Postal and Delivery Services, edited by M. A. Crew and P. R. Kleindorfer. Boston: Kluwer.
Pieper, F and U. Stumpf. 1994. “Restructuring the Potal Sector: The German Case,” in Commericialization of Postal and Delivery Services, edited by M. A. Crew and P. R. Kleindorfer. Boston: Kluwer.
Postal Inspection Service. 1988. “Delivery Costs” (mimeo) 18pp.
Reay, I. 1993. “Models of Reliability in Postal Services,” in Regulation and the Nature of Postal and Delivery Services, edited by M. A. Crew and P. R. Kleindorfer. Boston: Kluwer.
Rogerson, C. M. and W. M. Takis. 1993. “Economies of Scale and Scope and Competition in Postal Services,” in Regulation and the Nature of Postal and Delivery Services, edited by M. A. Crew and P. R. Kleindorfer. Boston: Kluwer.
Runyon, M. 1994. “A Battle is Brewing Over the Private Express Statutes,” Mail: the Journal of Communication Distribution, Vol. 6, No. 2 (March, 1994): 49–51.
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1997 Springer Science+Business Media New York
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Haldi, J., Merewitz, L. (1997). Cost and Returns from Delivery to Sparsely Settled Rural Areas. In: Crew, M.A., Kleindorfer, P.R. (eds) Managing Change in the Postal and Delivery Industries. Topics in Regulatory Economics and Policy Series, vol 25. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-6321-1_12
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-6321-1_12
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-1-4613-7902-7
Online ISBN: 978-1-4615-6321-1
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive