Postal service has received considerably less attention in the economics
literature than traditional public utilities. Postal service is facing
some very important challenges arising out of the increasingly high-tech
nature of postal service, the entry of competition into the business,
and new attitudes on the part of government to postal service. In the
United Kingdom and Germany the increased interest in privatization and
recognition of the benefits of competition are likely to have an impact
on postal service. These challenges mean that postal managers must learn
new ways of doing business, not just in successfully introducing new
hardware and in new internal operating procedures, but also in the
development of new pricing and costing methodologies and in the
introduction of new management information systems.
In order to deal with these new developments managers need a solid
foundation in applied microeconomic theory as it relates to postal
service. This book encompasses the theoretical foundation for postal
policy, particularly with regard to pricing, service quality, and
competitive issues.