The Economics of Open Access: International and Domestic Implications

A discussion of one of the most fundamental issues surrounding science and technology – an issue important not just in the United States but, in fact around the world. That issue is access to research and science that is produced. Who owns what? What are the proprietary and publishing issues in an age of expanding technology? At its outset, it sounds like a simple question. Isn’t science something that belongs to all of us and shouldn’t access be open? But it turns out, as you will hear today and I am sure many of you know, it’s a very thorny issue. Science not only moves mankind forward in our understanding of the universe but it is also increasingly behind most economic development in the world. The question of access to science and ownership of science is very thorny, indeed. We want to discuss ways of recommending solutions to policymakers that are not just keeping science moving forward and incentivizing business, but are also incentivizing the population to continue to support and fund science. This goal is not just critical to our economy but in fact to the continued advancement of the human race. This, I believe, is one of the most important issues of our time and we are very proud that we are hosting a forum for this discussion. I would love to be able to say that, coming out of this forum, we will be able to write a document with defini- tive recommendations for our policymakers. Unfortunately, that will not happen today, but at least we can say that we’re contributing to the discussion and hopefully contributing to the ideas that will help policymakers work through this issue.

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