The Open Library Economics (OLEcon) supports non-commercial Diamond Open Access for journals in economics and business studies. OLEcon offers support for setting up a sustainable alternative funding for your journal through a consortium of libraries.
OLEcon is an initiative of the ZBW – Leibniz Information Centre for Economics.
No fees for authors (article processing charges or APCs) and no fees for readers (paywall)
A service of the ZBW
25.08.2026
The 2027 funding round has begun. You can find all additional information here.
Mehr zu: The 2027 funding round has begun
24.08.2026
The deadline for applications from journals for OLEcon funding is January 18th, 2027. You can find all further information here.
Mehr zu: Round of applications for scholar-led Diamond Open Access journals for 2028
15.12.2025
The deadline for applications from journals for OLEcon funding is March 31st, 2026. You can find all further information here.
Mehr zu: New Round of applications for scholar-led Diamond Open Access journals
It means that the rights to a journal title and thus the decision-making authority on all matters regarding the journal rest with the editors. In some cases, the rights to a journal title are owned by a commercial publisher. OLEcon supports editors in the negotiations to regain these title rights.
With these goals, OLEcon puts into practice two key demands of current science policy:1. strengthening non-commercial infrastructures and2. Open Access without fees for researchers and readers.
OLEcon offers support for setting up a sustainable alternative funding for your journal through a consortium of libraries.
Open Access journals are more visible than journals behind paywalls. Articles can be linked or shared without access issues.
More and more research funding agencies demand that research findings resulting from their funding must be published in Open Access (see the initiative Plan S). An Open Access business model gives an advantage to journals in the competition for submissions.
Journals published in Diamond Open Access are more attractive for authors since they don’t have to pay article processing charges. This is also shown by the experience of Wirtschaftsdienst and Intereconomics (journals edited by the ZBW): page views and submissions increased after the change to Open Access.
OLEcon journals are scholar-led. Therefore, the editors can act and make decisions independently of commercial publishing houses.
