On the open-access, anti-intellectual-monopoly front, note this blog post by a favorite of mine, Rajiv Sethi:
"Theoretical Economics is among the most prestigious journals specializing in economic theory, with a stellar editorial board and high quality submissions. It is also an open access journal: every published article may be viewed, downloaded and printed freely worldwide without subscription. And authors release their work under a creative commons license that allows users to "copy, distribute and transmit" the work provided that this is done with proper attribution, in the "manner specified by the author."My take is simple: any academic economics association that won't go over to one of these new open access journal formats has... well... a painted ass on its face and ought to be resigned from forthwith."Under the open access format the size of the user pool (and the aggregate consumers' surplus) is maximized, but none of the benefits that accrue to readers can be appropriated by publishers. This would ordinarily make financial viability difficult. But in the case of journal articles there is very little value added by the publisher in any case:... the lion's share of the product's value is created by authors, referees and editors for little or no direct financial compensation. As a result, relatively modest fees for submission or the processing of accepted papers can be enough to cover the costs of production and online dissemination.... non-commercial... e-journal Economics... uses an innovative public review process involving a large community of registered readers.
So far, the major academic publishers have managed to maintain their lucrative subscription based model... libraries will be increasingly reluctant to pay for bundled journal subscriptions when much of the content could be accessed freely in any case. More importantly, when given a choice, authors will surely prefer retention of copyright, avoidance of exorbitant fees, and the broadest possible dissemination of their work.
Accordingly, if some of the major economic societies and associations make the transition to open access, the floodgates will open. Traditional publishers will find themselves in a pincer like grip, with highly prestigious society journals weighing down upon them and new entrants nipping at their heels.... "
Rajiv adds:
"The proliferation of blogs is leading to a democratization of discourse in economics, as non-specialists and autodidacts bring fresh perspectives to bear on theoretical disputes and policy questions. This process depends critically on the ability of outsiders to eavesdrop easily on conversations among economists. Unfettered access to academic research not only increases the visibility of ideas, it also increases the scrutiny to which they are subjected. And this should result in the development of better, more interesting, and more robust ideas in the long run."
Comments (8)
too dry ???
even this:
"a democratization of discourse in economics, as non-specialists and autodidacts bring fresh perspectives to bear on theoretical disputes and policy questions"
Posted by op | March 31, 2010 7:15 AM
Posted on March 31, 2010 07:15
not too dry, just kind of obvious
The subscription journal model is so obviously silly. There's just no reason to have them walled, at all. The only reason that the practice continues is to benefit a few low level rent-seekers like SAGE. There's no pathetically low reward rent-seeking like academic rent-seeking
"Now students, make sure to buy the 18th edition of my text, Sociology Today. I will be testing on material that is only in the new edition."
Posted by bob | March 31, 2010 8:55 AM
Posted on March 31, 2010 08:55
My more esoteric google searches are constantly running up against the brick wall of jstor.org, which you can only get to through an institutional affiliation. How I would like to see a mob with torches and pitchforks take that fuck-you operation apart.
Posted by MJS | March 31, 2010 10:20 AM
Posted on March 31, 2010 10:20
"non-specialists and auto-didacts", "esoteric google searches" -- are these cool signs for my neighborhood bar, or what?
Posted by senecal | March 31, 2010 11:11 AM
Posted on March 31, 2010 11:11
yes, I forgot about JSTOR. It's just so preposterous: JSTOR actually makes you electronically sign a disclaimer that you won't redistribute the paper every single time you download. The whole interface is actually pretty junk as well. Thankfully I get to use Scholars Portal here in Ontario. It's a much cleaner, faster and larger database.
One other good trend is that most people seem to just be putting up their papers on their department websites and blatantly disregarding the journal monopoly.
Posted by bob | March 31, 2010 11:38 AM
Posted on March 31, 2010 11:38
bob if you judge importance by the preposterous meter
most of what we attack looks unimportant
and i guess in the scheme of things
intellectual property as a meme
is about as preposterous as ...
the trinity
or the immaculate conception
Posted by op | March 31, 2010 12:02 PM
Posted on March 31, 2010 12:02
I agree, intellectual property is an important issue, even if one doesn't believe in the concept.
It's just that in the particular context of journal articles, IP is actually kind of besides the point. The reason I find it more preposterous than say patents or movies is that the authors don't make any meaningful income from journal articles in the first place. There's actually no downside to making them free.
"But in the case of journal articles there is very little value added by the publisher in any case:... the lion's share of the product's value is created by authors, referees and editors for little or no direct financial compensation."
That's why it seems so silly to wall them in. The point is to disseminate information. As soon as the internet was invented everything should have been scanned and uploaded.
Posted by bob | March 31, 2010 1:10 PM
Posted on March 31, 2010 13:10
one good ebook resource I've been meaning to pass on is this:
http://gigapedia.com/
You have to register, and after you do, switch the tab beside the search box on the page from "google" to "gigapedia" in order to search the good stuff. It's a huge collection. I just downloaded Mencken's Notes on Democracy actually.
Posted by bob | March 31, 2010 1:56 PM
Posted on March 31, 2010 13:56