4 ms·

All things being equal, a journal that charges a subscription will out-compete a journal that charges publishing fees because it shifts fees from the researcher

All things being equal, a journal that charges a subscription will out-compete a journal that charges publishing fees because it shifts fees from the researcher to a bunch of schools. The schools are relatively cost insensitive as long as the journal is high impact. Researchers will always be highly cost sensitive.

kkylin 9y ago
Not to say whether they are a good idea or bad idea in general, but on thing worth considering is that publishing fees also act as a barrier to entry for less well-funded groups. Some journals even charge fees to submit (even if you are rejected in the end). This can be especially problematic for interdiscinplinary work -- in my field (applied math) grants are generally smaller, and if I submitting a paper to a biology journal that charges a submission fee up front is not always a triial decision.