Simba Information: Social Science, Humanities Publishing Fell on COVID-19 Disruption

ROCKVILLE, Md., March 9, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The impact of the COVID-19 virus and associated economic disruption will tighten the market for publishing materials in the humanities and social sciences — this according to Global Social Sciences & Humanities Publishing 2021-2025, the latest report from Simba Information.

Social science and humanities (SSH) publishing sales fell an estimated 1.5% in 2020 after posting flat results in 2019. Currency movements are estimated to have inflated sales in 2020. The SSH publishing market decline is estimated at 2.5% in constant currency. The market has not posted overall sales growth since 2017 when it grew 1.9%.

Now, after more than a year of coronavirus lockdowns and restrictions, academic and government research budgets are poised to tighten and hinder growth in 2021 and 2022.

However, in the long-term, research in social sciences will have a vast amount to contribute to resolving the massive challenges arising out of the COVID-19 pandemic. A better understanding of human and societal behavior is required to develop effective strategies and policies to reduce viral transmission.

When it comes to infection prevention and control at both the local and international levels, a fuller understanding of areas of study such as politics, international relations, philosophy, economics, psychology, sociology and ethics have all been suggested as meriting urgent consideration by researchers. Behavioral psychology will be critical to solve issues ranging from anti-mask movements to vaccine denial. It is COVID-19's ability to exploit particular aspects of human behavior that allows it to continue to spread from person-to-person.

Some of these areas now have an opportunity to attract research dollars, and in turn spur growth in information and tools geared at these areas of research.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the entire scholarly publishing industry has been to accelerate the transitions that were already taking place, whether it be the move to digital, open access or the push for tools and services to diversity reliance on revenue from content.

Global Social Sciences & Humanities Publishing 2021-2025 provides an overview and financial outlook for the global SSH publishing market based on specific research and analysis of the leading competitors' performance. This research was conducted in conjunction with a larger study of the overall market for professional publishing.

The market is divided into five content delivery channels: books, journals, online content, abstracting and indexing and other activities, a category that includes audio, video and CD-ROM information.

Simba also examines leading competitors including: Cengage, EBSCO, Elsevier, Informa, John Wiley & Sons, Oxford University Press, ProQuest, SAGE Publishing and Springer Nature.

About Simba Information

Simba Information is widely recognized as the leading authority for market intelligence in the media and publishing industry. Simba's extensive information network delivers top quality, independent perspective on the people, events and alliances shaping the media and information industry. Simba publishes newsletters and research reports that provide key decision-makers at more than 15,000 client companies around the globe with timely news, analysis, exclusive statistics and proprietary industry forecasts. For more information, please visit www.simbainformation.com or call 888-29-SIMBA.

Media Contact:

Dan Strempel
dstrempel@simbainformation.com

SOURCE Simba Information