The Economics of Open Access

On the Future of Academic Publishing

New Horizons in Law and Economics series

托马斯•埃格尔名誉教授Law and Economics, University of Hamburg and Marc Scheufen, Senior Research Fellow, Law Faculty, Ruhr University of Bochum, Germany

Addressing the recent debate on how the future of academic publishing might look in a purely digital environment, this book analyzes the experiences of researchers with, as well as attitudes towards, ‘Open Access’ (OA) publishing. Drawing on a unique, in-depth survey with more than 10,000 respondents from 25 countries, Thomas Eger and Marc Scheufen discuss their findings in the light of recent policy attempts which have been trying to foster OA, revealing considerable shortcomings and lack of knowledge on fundamental features of the academic publishing market.

‘The book is an excellent study, starting much needed research into the future of open access publications in academia based on robust empirical data. This Kat looks forward to follow-on work, notably policy-focused propositions, on the basis of Eger and Scheufen’s contribution. The book will be useful to any practitioner, academic or policy-maker interested in the issue of open access publications, or on the state of the public domain more generally.’
– ipkitten.blogspot.com

‘This is the most comprehensive study on open access academic publishing. It covers the economic and legal aspects of this market of ideas, including the actual importance, shortcomings and potential developments of open access and is therefore a must for everyone interested in the organization of academic publishing. The authors provide a new and concise look on open access publishing, its economic consequences and legal requirements based on thorough empirical research in many countries.’
– Hans-Bernd Schäfer, Bucerius Law School, Germany