Search results for ""Author Michael A. Crew""

Michael Crew and David Parker have compiled a comprehensive, up-to-date and detailed analytical work on leading research issues in the economics of regulation. With contributions from international specialists in economic regulation, the Handbook provides a comprehensive discussion of major developments in both the theory and practice of regulatory economics. This book will be an indispensable source for both students and practitioners of regulation.The Handbook begins by looking at the principles, history and methods of regulation before turning to specialist themes including: pricing and social welfare regulating service quality consumer representation< performance benchmarking environmental regulation calculating the cost of capital information revelation and incentives the economics of access charging regulatory governance regulatory policy in developing countries particular issues in the regulation of the telecommunications, energy, transport and water sectors. The International Handbook on Economic Regulation is essential reading for researchers in the economics of regulation and students of regulation on final year undergraduate and postgraduate degree courses. As a major reference work, it is of value and assistance to economists in regulatory offices, regulated companies and government departments.

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This compilation of original essays by an international cast of economists, regulators and industry practitioners analyzes some of the major issues now facing postal and delivery services throughout the world as competition from information and communication technologies (ICT) has increased. Competition has become increasingly important in the postal sector for some time in the form of alternative entrants providing mail delivery. However, the competition from ICT in the form of email and instant messaging, the Internet, Facebook and other forms of social networking and portable wireless devices such as the iPad and Kindle may be even more significant. Mail volumes are falling and the economies of scale that have made possible daily deliveries to every address are being eroded. This book assesses volume these declines resulting from this so-called `eSubstituion' and looks at the ways the postal sector can adapt to the rapid changes resulting from ICT. The impact of electronic invoicing on transactions mail, and the impact on bulk mail of electronic forms of advertising are examined. Strategies, including pricing and access policies, are discussed in the context of the increasing impact of ICT. A rethinking of the role of mail in an electronic age is taking place and this book provides the cutting-edge of this rethinking and the attempts of POs to reinvent themselves while continuing to meet the public's expectation of continuing ubiquitous daily deliveries of traditional mail products. Undergraduate and postgraduate students and researchers in regulation, competition law, innovation and public sector economics along with institutional libraries and industry professionals will find this volume informative and useful.

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Regulation continues to be an important issue in the postal and delivery sector of the global economy. This latest volume in the Advances in Regulatory Economics series reflects the latest research on trends and policies affecting the postal sector and progress made in the industry's competitive agenda. It is global in scope and covers a broad range of legal and economic issues from leading scholars, researchers, and policy makers.Topics covered include: service quality and price caps, the impact of price regulation on service quality, financing the USO, cost analysis and pricing of innovative postal products, postal demand studies, the effects of intermedia competition; mail order demand; Internet advertising, trends in direct mail, legal and regulatory issues related to the postal sector, competitive strategies in the parcel market, and environmental impacts of mail. The book also provides concrete analyses of the driving forces underlying restructuring, transformation and privatization strategies of postal operators. Scholars and practitioners in public sector economics and postal regulation will appreciate this in-depth treatment of their industry.

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Worldwide, postal and delivery economics has attracted considerable interest as the delivery sector undergoes rapid change and the debate on liberalization rages. This compendium of original essays has been selected from papers presented at the Rutgers University CRRI 14th Conference on Postal and Delivery Economics, May 31-June 3 2006. It explores the important new trends and issues in this rapidly changing field. The European Union's plan to open postal markets completely in 2009 has raised questions about t he role of regulation, funding for the Universal Service Obligation, the future of national Postal Operators and the principles that should govern the introduction of competition. The contributors - researchers, practitioners, lawyers and senior managers from around the world - address these questions in chapters that cover postal markets, pricing, efficiency and cost analysis, labor relations, and demand drivers. Examples are drawn from around the world. This timely book will be illuminating to practitioners and managers in the postal, express and delivery industry, as well as economists, regulators, competition lawyers, and marketers.

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Regulatory economics has become increasingly important over the last quarter of a century, in part as a result of the wave of privatization, starting in the UK, which made the regulation of monopoly of much greater interest. The discipline has also become more rigorous, increasingly employing powerful analytical and econometric methods. This volume brings together some of the leading contributions to the literature on this subject. The book is an invaluable resource for scholars, policymakers and regulators in the study of privatization and regulation.

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This compilation of original papers selected from the 19th Conference on Postal and Delivery Economics and authored by an international cast of economists, lawyers, regulators and industry practitioners addresses perhaps the most significant problem that has ever faced the postal sector - electronic competition from information and communication technologies (ICT). This has increased significantly over the last few years with a consequent serious drop in mail volume. All postal services have been hard hit by ICT, but probably the hardest hit is the United States Postal Service, which has lost almost a quarter of its mail volume since 2007. The loss of mail volume has a devastating effect on scale economies, which now work against post offices, forcing up their unit costs. Strategies to stem the loss in volume include non-linear pricing or volume discounts, increased efficiency and the development of new products. This loss of mail volume from ICT is one of a number of current problems addressed in this volume. The Universal Service Obligation (USO) continues to be a leading issue and concern that ICT undermines postal services ability to finance the USO is discussed. The importance of measuring and forecasting demand and costs take on even greater importance as ICT undermines the foundations of the postal business. This thought provoking book brings to bear new analyses of the most serious threat post offices have ever faced and raises fundamental questions as to the future of mail. Multi-Modal Competition and the Future of Mail is an ideal resource for students, researchers in regulation and competition law, postal administrations, policy makers, consulting firms and regulatory bodies.

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This volume, the result of the 21st Conference on Postal and Delivery Economics (Ireland, 2013), describes the continuing problem of the decline of the postal sector in the face of electronic competition and offers strategies for the survival of mail services in a digital age.The 25 original papers in this collection provide econometric analyses on the changing demand and elasticity of mail in the modern era. Proposed solutions to declining interest in the postal sector include closer links between mail services and the digital sphere, expansion of the parcel sector, changes to the universal service obligation, legal reform and regulatory change.Professors and students of regulatory economics will have an interest in this book, as will managers and other decision-makers working within the postal sector.Contributors include: D. Bailly, L. Balk Hope, C. Borsenberger, A.T. Bozzo, M.D. Bradley, T.J. Brennan, K.L. Capogrossi, I. Carslake, M.M. Cigno, K.K. Clendenin, J. Colvin, H. Cremer, M.A. Crew, P. De Donder, B.K. Eakin, R. Eccles, K. Elkelä, A. Fratini, F. Fustier, R.R. Geddes, D. Geradin, B. Gough, Å. Gustafsson, A. Haller, J. Hearn, H. Hennessy, A. Hildingsson, A.C. Houck, G. Houpis, C. Jaag, L. Janin, D. Joram, S. Lécou, J. Levin, C. Malamataris, B. Marsh, M. Meidinger, M. Moloney, H. Nikali, C.J. Paterson, E.S. Pearsall, M.K. Perkins, J. Pickett, R. Sahly, S. Selander, C. Sheedy, M. Srinivasan, V.I. Stanford, C. Strobel, G. Swinand, U. Trinkner, T. Uotila, J. Vantomme, T. Walsh

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This compilation of original essays by an international cast of top scholars addresses some of the major issues now facing postal and delivery services throughout the world. The European Commission and member states wrestle with the problem of how to implement the scheduled liberalization of these sectors and maintain the universal service obligation while the United States Postal Service is coming to terms with the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act. In addition, the book addresses the impact of electronic competition as well as other problems facing the field. The contributors analyze pressing issues such as access to infrastructure and service elements, changes in the national regulations of EU countries, forecasting mail volumes and the evolving market environment, issues surrounding universal service and others.Undergraduate and postgraduate students and researchers in regulation and public sector economics along with industry professionals will find this volume informative and useful.

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Worldwide, postal and delivery economics has attracted considerable interest. Numerous questions have arisen, including the role of regulation, funding the Universal Service Obligation, postal reform in Europe, Asia and North America, the future of national postal operators, demand and pricing strategies, and the principles that should govern the introduction of competition. Collected here are responses to these questions in the form of 24 essays written by researchers, practitioners, and senior managers from throughout the world. This volume will have a broad appeal, with an audience ranging from practitioners in the express and delivery industry, national Postal Operators and managers, to economists, regulators, competition lawyers, marketers, scholars in economic regulation, and institutional libraries.

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Professors Crew and Kleindorfer have once again assembled a valuable collection of essays that address timely and important issues in postal sectors throughout the world. The essays employ diverse methodologies to provide useful insights about recent and likely future developments in the postal industry. This book will be a valuable resource for researchers, industry practitioners, and policymakers alike.'- David E.M. Sappington, University of Florida, USIn our increasingly technology-focused world, demand for traditional postal services is steadily shrinking. This timely volume examines the many challenges that the worldwide postal sector is facing as a result of growing electronic competition, and offers expert recommendations for reshaping postal structures to strengthen their competitiveness in an electronic age.Drawn from a selection of papers presented at the 20th Conference on Postal and Delivery Economics in Brighton, UK, this book showcases expert contributions on the rapidly changing postal sectors in both the United States and Europe. Topics discussed include the various financial challenges posed by decreasing demand for postal services, recent changes in how postal services are provided, and new structures and modes of operation, such as privatization, that are currently affecting the industry. Contributors offer a thorough breakdown of the issues as well as ideas for keeping the postal sector alive in a world that is growing ever more reliant on purely electronic means of communication.Economists with an interest in regulatory economics, innovation and public sector economics will find this volume useful and informative, as will institutional libraries and industry professionals.

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The postal and delivery sector has been the subject of considerable interest in recent years. This book brings together a number of contributions directed at understanding developments in the field of postal reform. The authors review the experience and plans of individual countries to provide some perspective on the problems faced in the area and the varied approaches being taken to address them. They also review key elements of policy and strategy that are important in this debate.Gradual change occurred throughout the world's postal systems during the 1990s and into the 21st century. Regulatory and legal developments, together with advances in micro-electronics, fiber optics, and electronic substitution, continue to have a major impact on the sector. Regulatory changes have been most visible in Europe with the approval of the 3rd Postal Directive for the European Union in 2008. However, Europe has not been alone in facing these changes. Legislators in the US have also attempted to respond to changes in postal markets with the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006 (PAEA). Similar trends toward restructuring and reform of the sector are evident in other countries as well. This comprehensive book analyzes and describes the forces underlying these changes, the nature of the responses to them at national and regional levels, and some of the major challenges that postal operators, postal customers, and regulators are likely to encounter in the future.Scholars and students of regulation in general and those specifically interested in the postal and delivery sector will find this volume invaluable, as will policymakers and professionals within the industry.

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