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The Political Economy and the Natural Monopoly of the Postal Service: the Swedish case

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  • Mats Bladh

    (Department of Technology and Social Change, Linköping Universitet, SE-581 83 Linköping, Sweden. +46 13 284453. matbl@tema.liu.se)

Abstract

The postal service is a neglected business in academic historiography. Today’s postal service confronts two challenges: information technology and deregulation. This study deals mostly with deregulatory issues in a historical perspective. Comparisons between different periods in Swedish postal history in regard to competition, cross-subsidisation and bases for a natural monopoly is presented, and also the long-term development of mail volume. It will be argued that there has been quite different attitudes towards competition; that different forms of cross-subsidisation has existed; that the postal service has been a natural monopoly, but for reasons related to change; that mail composition has been transformed from correspondence to mass mail; and that mail volume has increased despite the rise of new modes of communication.

Suggested Citation

  • Mats Bladh, 2001. "The Political Economy and the Natural Monopoly of the Postal Service: the Swedish case," Journal of Interdisciplinary Economics, , vol. 12(3), pages 229-248, April.
  • Handle: RePEc:sae:jinter:v:12:y:2001:i:3:p:229-248
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