Commissioned by the Norwegian Ministry of Transport and Communications, Copenhagen Economics has analysed the development in wages and employment conditions in liberalized postal markets. The study is one of five assignments commissioned by the Ministry to assess the likely impacts of an implementation of the Third Postal Directive in Norway.

In the study (covering Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden and the UK) we find that changes in postal sector wages and employment conditions are driven by a combination of factors. Together with more automation and lower mail volumes, liberalization and increased competition put a pressure on postal sector wages and employment conditions towards a more market based level in markets with a pre-liberalisation wage premium. In markets with market based wages prior to liberalization, we find that changes in wages and employment conditions mainly are driven by changes in the skill level of postal workers’ tasks and a corresponding change in the age composition and educational structure of the postal sector labour force.

Read the full report here

For further information, please contact partner PhD. Henrik Ballebye Okholm