Publisert i
International Studies Perspectives (forthcoming)
Sammendrag
This contribution contains a discussion of some of the core issues related to the economics of open access journal publishing. By open access I simply mean that published academic articles are available for download over the internet, free of charge.. In this limited space I primarily cover issues where I think I have something to say. The article contains a mix of my personal views as an academic, as an economist, and as an editor of a minor open access journal. These issues relate to economic efficiency, distribution, access in poor countries, and general benefits of open access. I base the discussion on my own experience with publishing an open access journal. I end the discussion by some thoughts on the realism and feasibility of a general transition to open access. My experience is primarily from economics, but I expect that it has some relevance for other social science disciplines as well as for the humanities. I think, however, that the issue of open access in disciplines where commercial interests are much more important has to be approached differently. For readers who want to go deeper into the various aspects of the economics of open access publishing, I recommend the two symposia in Economic Analysis & Policy (2009) and in Nature (2004), and a report on the costs and benefits of open access publishing (Houghton et al. 2009) . All these are appropriately available on-line, free of charge.