Textbooks

Textbooks in Higher Education

Summary of PIRGS Findings

From (http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA500814.html):

• text prices are rising "at more than four times the inflation rate for all finished goods" (Rube 2005, 1);
• the most popular texts have new editions published every three years;
• new editions are priced 12% higher than the editions they are replacing, "almost twice the rate of inflation" (Rube 2005, 1);
• bundled texts are on average 10% more expensive than unbundled counterparts;
• 55% of bundled textbooks are not available unbundled;
• the average textbook costs 20% more in the U.S. than U.K. and some are dramatically more expensive here.

Price and Access issue

Between 1986 and 2004, textbook prices rose 186 percent in the United States, or slightly more than six percent per year. (GAO 2005, 8)

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