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Articles in Refereed Journals
Innovation and Entrepreneurship Research

Optimal Pricing and Quality of Academic Journals and the Ambiguous Welfare Effects of Forced Open Access: A Two-Sided Model

Mueller-Langer, Frank; Watt, Richard (2021). Optimal Pricing and Quality of Academic Journals and the Ambiguous Welfare Effects of Forced Open Access: A Two-Sided Model Managerial and Decision Economics 2021.

We analyze optimal pricing and quality of a monopolistic journal and the optimality of open access in a two-sided model. The predominant aspect of the model that determines the quality levels at which open access is optimal is the nature of the relationship between readers and authors in a journal. In contrast to the previous literature, we firstly show that there exist scenarios in which open access is a feature of high-quality journals. Second, we find that the removal of copyright (and thus forced open access) will likely increase both readership and authorship, will decrease journal profits, and may increase social welfare.

External Link (DOI)

Also published as: RatSWD Working Paper Series No. 223

Also published as: TILEC Discussion Paper No. 2012-019