The impact of a publisher list on publication patterns: evidence from Poland

Abstract The causal effects of science policy tools are difficult to evaluate due to the complex nature of researchers’ behaviour. This article explores the effects of a policy tool introduced in the Polish performance-based research funding system in 2019. The Polish Publisher List (PPL) is used to evaluate scholarly book publications. It categorizes publishers into three groups depending on their perceived prestige by the academic community and policymakers. In a mixed-method study, we analysed bibliographic records related to scholarly monographs before and after the introduction of the PPL, and conducted two surveys that measured the factors that influence the selection of publishers and their reputations in the eyes of monograph authors. Our results show that the number of scholarly monographs published by non–PPL publishers declined considerably, with only a minor decrease in the number of works published by PPL publishers. Monograph authors were more prone to select international publishers for their books written in foreign languages than they had been before the introduction of the PPL. Our study demonstrates that the PPL is a powerful policy tool and some of its effects can be observed even 2 years after its introduction. This suggests a strategic shift in publishing decisions that policymakers must consider in future evaluations of the PPL.