IER Workflow Router (ier-workflow)

Overview

This is the router. It tells you which ier- skill to use at the current stage* of a manuscript aimed at the International Economic Review (IER) — the broad, rigor-leaning general-interest journal founded in 1960 "to provide a forum for modern quantitative economics," owned by the Economics Department of the University of Pennsylvania together with the Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER), Osaka University, and published with Wiley. "International" names the Penn–Osaka partnership (and the Klein Lectures it hosts), not a field restriction: IER covers economic theory, econometrics, quantitative/structural macro, and applied micro, with a pronounced theory/structural tilt and a premium on methodological rigor, generality, and a clean model-to-evidence link.

Default assumption: unless the user says otherwise, treat the target as IER. Operational tells that you are at IER and not a sibling: submission runs through Editorial Express (editorialexpress.com/ier), not ScholarOne/Manuscript Central (检索于 2026-06；以官网为准); there is a flat US$150 / ¥15,000 submission fee and the paper is not reviewed until it is paid; the manuscript ceiling is ≤50 pages, double-spaced; the journal adopted the AER data availability policy effective Jan 1, 2022. Editor names and exact figures are volatile — re-verify on the official Penn/Wiley pages (待核实).

When to trigger

• The user asks "what should I do next?" on an IER-bound draft
• A draft needs its current bottleneck diagnosed
• Work is ping-ponging between theory/model, identification, evidence, exhibits, and the response letter
• An IER decision letter arrived and the user needs to switch into revision mode
• The team is weighing IER against Econometrica/QE, a top-5, or a field journal

Routing table

Default order

1. ier-topic-selection — lock a general-interest quantitative question
2. ier-literature-positioning — stake the contribution vs. the frontier and siblings
3. ier-theory-model — make the model tight (assumptions, results, comparative statics)
4. ier-identification — structural parameter or empirical causal identification
5. ier-robustness — stability to specification, sample, and inference choices
6. ier-tables-figures — exhibits that carry the argument
7. ier-writing-style — make the idea land for a broad rigor audience (intro/abstract last)
8. ier-replication-package — AER-policy package + proof appendix
9. ier-referee-strategy — anticipate objections, pre-empt the obvious referee
10. ier-submission — Editorial Express preflight (fee + ≤50pp + format)
11. ier-rebuttal — after the R&R

For a theory paper, ier-theory-model precedes ier-identification; for an applied paper they often swap. Do not let ier-writing-style rewrite the intro before the model and evidence settle.

Routing by paper archetype

IER spans four broad branches, and the binding constraint differs by branch. Read the archetype, then enter the chain at the right link.

Worked routing example (illustrative)

A user says: "My quantitative trade model fits the moments, but a referee says the welfare gain is an artifact of the elasticity I calibrated and the proof of equilibrium uniqueness is hand-waved." That is two distinct IER pushbacks — a load-bearing assumption / parameter is undefended (owned by ier-identification for what pins the elasticity, and ier-theory-model for the uniqueness argument) and the headline number isn't robust (owned by ier-robustness). Route to ier-theory-model first to make the equilibrium argument airtight, then ier-identification to show what in the data moves the elasticity, then ier-robustness to bound the welfare number — only then back to ier-tables-figures and ier-rebuttal.

How IER differs from its siblings (use this to route a mis-targeted paper)

• Econometrica / Quantitative Economics are Econometric Society journals: method-first, membership-gated, no flat per-paper submission fee, ScholarOne-style portals. IER is Penn–Osaka-owned, broad/theory-leaning, flat US$150 fee, Editorial Express portal.
• Top-5 (AER/QJE/JPE/REStud/Eca) demand topical importance on top of rigor; IER rewards rigor and generality without requiring the "splash."
• Field journals (JIE, J. of Econometrics, etc.) want depth in one field; IER wants the result to travel beyond it. If a draft fits a sibling better, route the user to ier-topic-selection to reframe or to retarget before going further down the chain.

Anti-patterns

• Treating IER as interchangeable with Econometrica/QE (Econometric Society, method-first, no flat fee) or with a fee-free top-5
• Polishing prose before the model, identification, and evidence hierarchy are stable
• Skipping ier-replication-package until acceptance — the AER policy and proof appendix are part of the contribution, not an afterthought
• Submitting past the 50-page ceiling or before the $150 fee clears (the paper is not even reviewed)

Minimal decision snippet

if decision_letter_arrived:        -> ier-rebuttal
elif ready_to_submit:              -> ier-submission
elif anticipating_referees:        -> ier-referee-strategy
elif data_code_or_proofs:          -> ier-replication-package
elif exhibits_dense:               -> ier-tables-figures
elif results_fragile:              -> ier-robustness
elif identification_shaky:         -> ier-identification
elif model_not_tight:             -> ier-theory-model
elif contribution_fuzzy:           -> ier-literature-positioning
else:                              -> ier-topic-selection