Thesis (Ph.D.) - Cairo University - Faculty of Economics and Political Sciences - Department of Economics

The current study assesses the impact of liberalizing the postal market in Egypt on the universal postal services obligations. The analysis reveals that it is possible to sustain universal services obligations when the postal market is liberalized if both the government and the national operator take specific measures to ensure its sustainability without incurring additional financial burden on the national operator. The importance of this study is based on its contribution to the economic regulation literature where the sustainability of universal services obligations is considered a core issue. In addition, this study is the first among few to address this subject in both Egypt and the Middle East. Since it is difficult to collect primary data on the sector in Egypt, the results of this study can contribute to the implementation of future related studies in the Egyptian market. Similar empirical studies have been conducted in the EU, over the past fifteen years; unlike the developing countries, where a little has been done in the same area. Accumulated results from developing countries add another dimension to the debate and introduce different set of recommendations to address this topic

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