The article processing charge (APC) financed Open Access is a publication model that provides immediate and free access to scientific articles. More than half of the world’s Open Access articles are published according to this concept. However, a side effect of the model is that research is not published if researchers cannot pay the publication charge. The study examines the nature of this phenomenon, its extent, and implications. The study places a special focus on authors who are not affiliated with a research institution. The proportion of these authors is identified among 2,184 Danish authors in Danish periodicals in 2010. The possibility for poor researchers to receive compensation from publishers is investigated as well. Paying the APC is a problem for many researchers—represented by around 30% of authors who have published in Danish journals (unemployed scientists, students, as well as retired and private employees). Grants from publishers exist, but they are small and too uncertain to ensure that research is published optimally. This study predicts that a large amount of valuable research risks not being published if this publishing model dominates without alternatives or countermeasures.

Keywords

academic publishing · APC-financed · developing countries · open access