The Economic Impact of Open Science: A Scoping Review
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This paper summarised a comprehensive scoping review of the economic impact of Open Science(OS), examining empirical evidence from 2000 to 2023. It focuses on Open Access (OA),Open/FAIR Data (OFD), Open Source Software (OSS), and Open Methods, assessing theircontributions to efficiency gains in research production, innovation enhancement, and economicgrowth. Evidence, although limited, indicates that OS accelerates research processes, reduces therelated costs, fosters innovation by improving access to data and resources and this ultimatelygenerates economic growth. Specific sectors, such as life sciences, are researched more and theliterature exhibits substantial gains, mainly thanks to OFD and OA. OSS supports productivity,while the very limited studies on Open Methods indicate benefits in terms of productivity gains andinnovation enhancement. However, gaps persist in the literature, particularly in fields like CitizenScience and Open Evaluation, for which no empirical findings on economic impact could bedetected. Despite limitations, empirical evidence on specific cases highlight economic benefits.This review underscores the need for further metrics and studies across diverse sectors and regionsto fully capture OS's economic potential.
