Open Access

The postal sector has a long monopolistic tradition in many countries; however, since the 1990s it has undergone considerable changes. At the beginning of that decade, the European Commission abolished exclusive rights within the postal system and opened up the market to new private postal providers and changes have continued to accelerate after two important European directives. Both directives were intended to improve the quality of service in the industry and to open up the market to competition. What has changed since the opening of the German postal market? A look at market shares measured by volumes of processed postal items, or by revenue, quickly reveals the prevailing dominance of the former monopolist Deutsche Post AG (DPAG). Despite an increasing number of market entries by private postal providers, it seems the German postal market is still characterized by the old monopolistic structures and that the aim of creating a competitive environment has not been fully achieved. This thesis deals with different competition issues from an economics perspective. The analyses are based on self-collected data and in-depth interviews conducted during on-site visits and thus provide first empirical evidence regarding the status quo in the German postal market.