Hedonic pricing and the valuation of open access journals

Abstract

The emergence of Open Access (OA) publishing has created new economic niches and debates in academic publishing. OA journals offer numerous publication outlets with differing editorial philosophies and business models. Scholars and academic stakeholders must decide which journals offer acceptable value for the direct or indirect costs of academic publishing. Our research uses the Directory of Open Access Journals (N=12,100) to identify various characteristics of OA academic journals that influence journal prices. The Journal Impact Factor (JIF), language, publisher mission, DOAJ Seal, World Bank Economic and Geographic regions of publishers, peer review duration and journal discipline are identified as factors with significant influence over journal price levels. Journals with status endowments (JIF, DOAJ Seal), published in wealthier regions, in medical or science-based disciplines, and with English-based articles are relatively more expensive. Scholarly and political economic inequalities manifest in the prices and benefits offered by different journals and publishers throughout the world.