Competition in the Postal Sector

Posted by D. Daniel Sokol

One of my pet issues is competition in the postal sector.  I have a forthcoming article in the BYU Law Review that looks at comparative corporate governance and competition policy of state owned enterprises.  I use the postal sector as an example of the potential for bad corporate management and possible anti-competitive harm.

I should forward the current draft to the GAO, which released a report which points to the USPS as a financial high risk for the US.  Not once does the report mention the word competition and not once does the GAO think to recommend an end to the postal monopoly as a way to have the market force the USPS to become more efficient.  The USPS still operates under a soft budget constraint and no doubt would be bailed out no matter how many years of deficit it would face.