Waiving Article Processing Charges for Least Developed Countries. A Brick Stone of a Large-scale Open Access Transformation

TL;DR

This study evaluates the economic feasibility of waiving article processing charges for least developed countries in a large publisher, finding it possible without significant revenue loss and supporting global open access efforts.

Contribution

It provides a detailed analysis of the potential revenue impact for Springer-Nature if APC waivers are extended to LDCs, demonstrating feasibility and benefits.

Findings

Estimated 520 publications annually from LDCs in Springer-Nature journals

Potential revenue loss of approximately $1.1 million if waivers are applied

Waiving APCs for LDCs is economically feasible for the publisher

Abstract

This article investigates the question, if it is economically feasible for a large publishing house to waive article processing charges for the group of 47 so called least developed countries (LDC). As an example Springer-Nature is selected. The analysis is based on the Web of Science, OpenAPC and the Jisc collections Springer compact journal list. As a result, it estimates an average yearly publication output of 520 publications (or a share of 0,26% of the worldwide publication output in Springer-Nature journals) for the LDC country group. The loss of revenues for Springer-Nature would be 1,1 million $ if a waiver would be applied for all of these countries. Given that money is indispensable for development in the case of LDC (e.g. life expectancy, health, education), it is not only desirable but also possible in economic terms for a publisher like Springer-Nature to waive APCs for these countries without much loss in revenues.