The Price of Journals in Geography

Abstract

We assess the importance of publisher conduct and journal quality in determining the price and cost-effectiveness of journals in geography. Drawing on a database of 136 journals in which geographers publish, we examine the price of journals, publishers' market share, the determinants of journal prices, and the cost-effectiveness of journals. We find that commercial presses charge 2.3 times more for journals than society and university presses and 50 percent more for journals published on behalf of universities and societies. Journals in physical geography are almost twice as expensive as those in human geography and 43 percent of them can be considered “overpriced.” Four commercial presses hold 72 percent of the titles and 93 percent of the value of subscriptions, enabling them to exercise oligopolistic market power over pricing. Our multivariate analysis shows that the price of journals, of articles, and of citations in geography is driven by publisher conduct rather than journal quality as measured by citations accrued to articles. Geographers can further the transition underway in scientific publishing by self-archiving their published work, disseminating their findings through social networks, and paying closer attention to journal cost-effectiveness in choosing where to publish and review.