Universal Open Access Mandates By Universities Moot The Problem of Uncontrolled Journal Price Inflation Caused By Inelastic Demand

Universal OA self-archiving moots the problem of uncontrolled subscription-cost inflation by putting an end to the inelasticity of the demand: If your university cannot afford the subscription price for journal X, your users will still have access to the OA version. There is no need for universities to try to reform journal economics directly now. What is urgently needed, universally reachable, and already long overdue is universal OA self-archiving mandates from universities. Focusing instead on reforming journal business models pre-emptively is simply distracting from and hence delaying the fulfillment of this pressing need. Harvard should focus all its energy and prestige on universalizing OA self-archiving mandates rather than dissipating it needlessly and counterproductively on journal economics and OA funds. Once OA self-archiving is universal, journal economics will take care of itself quite naturally of its own accord.