Academic Journal Pricing and the Demand of Libraries

This article provides information on research regarding the effect of changing library acquisition strategies on academic journal pricing. A basic model of the demand of libraries for economic journals was estimated. Using a basic model structure, the acquisition of one publisher's journals by another may in theory lead to either higher or lower prices. The research extends the analysis in several ways. It estimates demand functions that allow for more library heterogeneity. It also considers the likely unilateral price effects of various acquisitions and plans to stimulate equilibrium price effects of various bundling strategies.