Federal budget cuts have greatly trimmed research funding in Argentina, with many academics reporting they are unable to afford publication costs to feature their work in paid scientific journals. The lack of research publications consequently lessens the impact of the scientists’ work, and therefore they have less access to international collaborations that could help boost the nation’s scientific research output.

In 2018’s federal budget, approximately ARS 35 billion ($1 billion) was allocated to science and technology, only 1.2% of Argentina’s overall budget. Publishing in indexed scientific journals, which are featured in internationally accessible databases, can cost up to ANR 177.4 thousand ($5 thousand). For scientists in Argentina, most of whom must pay for their own supplies in dollars while their grants are paid in pesos, the fees are largely unaffordable.

Over one hundred countries receive fee waivers or reductions from PLOS, which is a group of major scientific journals, but Argentina is not a part of this group. While Argentina has many scientific journals, most are not indexed, as the process to index a journal can be expensive. Researchers stated that instead of increasing funding for grants, it would be more effective for the publishing sector to establish free journals for scientists’ access.

Source: Global Press Journal