An Analysis of Cost Structure, Financing Instruments, and Region-Based Design for Sustainable Universal Postal Service Provision in Indonesia
Keywords:
Universal Postal Service, cost efficiency, compensation mechanisms, postal competition, regionalizationAbstract
Declining letter volumes and geographical heterogeneity threaten the sustainability of universal postal service because some costs adjust slowly to changes in demand. This article examines the cost structure of universal postal service, the effects of reserved areas, compensation funds, and pay-or-play mechanisms on market entry, and the feasibility of region-based service design in Indonesia. A mixed-methods approach integrates cost, comparative policy, and spatial analyses using universal postal service reports for 2023–2025, government data, regulations, and international literature. Initial findings show that total costs increased by 23.82%, primarily because operating costs rose by 106.94%, while the accounting gap between costs and revenues remained approximately IDR 361 billion. The policy analysis identifies trade-offs between funding adequacy and market openness across the instruments. Layered regionalization warrants further assessment because it preserves national standards while adapting service delivery to regional costs and needs. These findings remain exploratory because estimating net universal service costs requires more complete outlet-level and counterfactual data.
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