Study on Universal Postal Service and the Postal Monopoly

The following appendices have been prepared by a team of subject-matter experts at theSchool of Public Policy at George Mason University (GMU) under a contract with thePostal Regulatory Commission (PRC).Section 702 of the Postal Enhancement and Accountability Act (PAEA) required thePostal Regulatory Commission (PRC) to submit a report to the President and Congress bylate 2008 on universal postal service and the postal monopoly in the United States. GMUresponded to a Request for Proposals published by the PRC on November 29, 2007(PRC-07-01) with a proposal submitted on December 21, 2007. The contract to performthe work was issued February 11, 2008. The final deliverables were submitted to the PRCin November 2008.The study consists of analyses of legal rules and statutes, historical trajectories,international experiences, economic and econometric models, public needs andexpectations, and policy options regarding the postal universal service, universal serviceobligations, and letter and mailbox monopolies. The appendices reflect this scope:A. PrefaceB. Universal Service Obligation: A Review of the History and Development ofthe Laws Relating to the Provision of Universal Postal ServiceC. Postal Monopoly Laws: The History and Development of the Monopoly onthe Delivery of Mail and the Monopoly on Access to MailboxesD. History of Universal Service and the Postal MonopolyE. Universal Service and Postal Monopoly in Other CountriesF. The Economics of the Universal Service Obligation and the Postal MonopolyG. Public Needs and ExpectationsH. Evaluation of Policy OptionsThe lead authors of each appendix are identified on the respective title page. However,substantial comments and contributions to each have been made by all team members.The different parts are building on a shared understanding of core elements of postal policy in the U.S., differences in opinion on some issues notwithstanding. Thus, weconsider this a joint study rather than a collection of separate analyses.