Greedy book publishers keep prices on the rise

Editor,

Student Steven J. Aragon, the resident New Mexico textbook publishing expert, has an uncanny ability to explain economic theory in practice within the textbook industry. "Textbooks are expensive because students buy used books," he stated Monday in the Daily Lobo. The price of textbooks has tripled in 20 years, and a study by PIRG says the average student will spend $900 annually on books. Price is why students are buying used books. Students are searching for a cheaper alternative to increase the utility derived from limited income.

There are six higher education publishers in the Association of American Publishers. Economic theory calls this level of consolidation an oligopoly. Oligopolies have the power to sell books at prices above marginal costs because there is little, if any, competition.

Another reason books can be priced at levels higher than marginal costs is because the elasticity of demand for textbooks is relatively steep. If the price of textbooks increases, a student is forced to pay for the book because textbooks must be purchased if a student wants to graduate. According to the AAP, textbooks are "an essential part of a college education." This applies to gas, as well: If the price for gas increases, people must spend the money.

Aragon stated publishers "try creative things like issuing new editions ... And we all know new editions rarely add anything new." The AAP would disagree with Aragon. It claims that "the market (instructors and students), not publishers, determine when new textbook editions and formats are necessary and best meet their demands." Few, if any students, including Aragon, would agree with the AAP.

Alternative markets for textbooks are a result of the increase in the cost of textbooks. Textbook publishers add DVDs, CDs and other extra material that students do not want simply to make money. Publishers should offer black-and-white, paperback versions of the books to keep prices down. E equals MC2 in black-and-white or color, with or without DVDs and in hardcover or softcover versions of a book.

Nisha Rajan

UNM student