> (AEI's post also without irony points to the influence of open and free textbooks as something sure to bring down prices in the future, brought to you thanks to the free market).

Further irony: the open and free textbooks (and textbook alternatives, and increasingly efficient distribution of second hand textbooks) are probably one of the main drivers of the price rises. Publishers sell to tiny niches with a significant core market who find it really important to have the latest edition of the course text, and fringe around that that now has much cheaper alternatives. There's no mass market potential from pricing really low, so the publishers try to offset the loss of sales to the second group by squeezing the first group for higher prices. In any case, textbook revenues are already in decline despite the price rises.