The Economics of Electronic Journals

Abstract

Can electronic publications be operated at much lower costs than print journals, and still provide all the services that scholars require? That is the key question that is still in dispute. Available evidence shows that free or at least much less expensive journals are possible on the Net. It is probable that such journals will dominate in the area of basic scholarly publishing. However, the transition is likely to be complicated, since the scholarly publishing business is full of inertia and perverse economic incentives.