POSTAL SERVICE: MARKET CHARACTERISTICS AND POSSIBILITIES OF LIBERALIZATION

Postal Services play a fundamental role in each nation, because of the double impact they generate from a social and economic point of view. The introduction of the European directives opens the way towards a larger importance of free competition. But, even if liberalisation of postal markets has just occurred with good results in some countries, it doesn’t exist a unique solutions applicable everywhere. Costs of postal sector are strictly connected with delivered volumes, so liberalisation can change into a great failure in those markets characterised by a small postal volume. The aim of this research is to underline the importance of inquiring into the real existence of natural monopoly structure into the postal sector and to reconsider the definition of universal service obligation. Liberalisation has to be followed by a reduction of the cost supported by the incumbent, especially in a low volume per capita market