Evaluation of a Public Post Office

Abstract

Evaluating the performance of a national post office is a difficult and complex task. The modern postal service is an economic and political hybrid designed to serve the interests of a wide range of constituencies possessing varied and often contradictory needs. Canada Post Corporation (CPC) is no exception. Champions of the unfettered market often argue that privatization or deregulation of postal services is necessary to promote greater improvements in efficiency and productivity. Some go as far as suggesting that postal service would improve if offered by the private sector, or if private enterprise was awarded even greater rights to compete in areas now exclusively reserved for the public postal service.

The authors would like to thank the following people for their helpful comments, support and editorial assistance: Lynn Bue, Deborah Bourque, Katherine Steinhoff and Rosette Beaudoin.