Blockchain-based Academic Journals

This study investigates the economic implications of blockchain-based academic journals, proposed by the recent computer science literature, in which authors and referees are individually incentivized. We construct a model in which the journal publishes qualified papers under two types of information asymmetry: paper quality and type of referee. We obtain the conditions under which equilibrium in decentralization exists or fails and leads to a better outcome than in centralization. Our research also helps us understand how to design an incentive structure for information providers required for funding decisions, loan inspections, and credit ratings