A tool to assess journal price discrimination

This econometric study tests pricing practices of publishers and their mono poly power. It suggests that traditional publishers will retain their marke t clout as they shift to offering electronic publications. Librarians' comm on experience with price discrimination was corroborated by a powerful mode l comparing prices charged to institutions while holding constant for produ ction costs, source of publication, discipline areas, and the availability of titles in electronic format. The model also provides a robust selection tool to compare actual prices to model-predicted prices among the subscript ions within any given collection and to predict those that, statistically, are significantly overpriced. The study results reveal that commercial publ ishers are not the only ones that appear to overprice titles by a statistic ally significant amount. Campuses face continued increases in prices for tr aditional and electronic resources, but statistical modeling offers an oppo rtunity for controlling costs.