Submission Preflight (jhe-submission)

When to trigger

• "Submitting tomorrow" — last check before pressing submit in Editorial Manager
• Unsure which files, declarations, and statements the Elsevier submission expects
• Confirming format, keywords, and the Data Availability Statement are JHE-compliant
• Confirming the manuscript matches JHE's single-anonymized review (do NOT over-anonymize as for AEA double-blind)

Process facts (检索于 2026-06；以官网为准 — re-confirm on the JHE guide for authors)

• JHE is Elsevier's field flagship for health economics (ISSN 0167-6296); submission is via Elsevier Editorial Manager (editorialmanager.com/jhlthec).
• Review model: single-anonymized — referees see author identities; suitable papers go to ≥2 reviewers. There is no double-blind anonymization requirement, so stripping the manuscript of names is unnecessary (and removing acknowledgments/self-citations is not a desk requirement here).
• Length: JHE publishes papers of any length and encourages short papers — there is no separate short-paper channel. Match length to content; do not pad.
• Keywords: provide 1–7 keywords in English.
• Data & code: Elsevier Research Data policy — authors are encouraged (not mandated) to deposit data and to state data availability at submission via a Data Availability Statement. This is softer than the AEA mandatory openICPSR gate; honest documentation is the standard (see jhe-replication-package).
• Declarations: Declaration of Competing Interest, funding sources, and a Declaration of Generative AI in the writing process per Elsevier policy; AI cannot be an author. One paper under review at a time.
• Volatile / 待核实: exact abstract word limit, JEL-code requirement, current editorial board, APC for the open-access option, and any structured-abstract or highlights requirement — re-check the live guide for authors before submitting.

Preflight checklist

Format & front matter

• Manuscript in an accepted format (Word/LaTeX per Elsevier); pages numbered; sections clearly headed
• 1–7 English keywords supplied; abstract within the journal's limit (待核实)
• JEL codes included if required (待核实); affiliations and corresponding-author details complete
• Not over-anonymized — single-anonymized review means author info is expected on the title page
• References in the journal's house citation style (Elsevier author-date; re-check the guide)

Exhibits & appendix

• Tables/figures legible; standard errors reported with clustering stated (stars optional)
• Skewed-spending estimator and outcome definitions stated in notes
• Online/supplementary appendix prepared and separate from the main paper

Data, declarations & policy readiness

• Data Availability Statement drafted: names data, holder, access mechanism, realistic path/cost/wait
• Code package ready to share even if data is restricted (jhe-replication-package)
• Declaration of Competing Interest + funding statement complete
• Declaration of Generative AI in writing prepared per Elsevier policy; no AI listed as author
• Confirmed not under review elsewhere; ethics/IRB statement included where human-subjects or restricted health data is used
• Cover letter states the health-economics contribution and the target audience within JHE's scope

How JHE submission differs from the AEA journals (do not import the wrong reflexes)

If your last submission was to AEJ: Applied, AER, or another AEA outlet, several habits will mislead you here:

• Anonymization: AEA review is double-blind and demands a fully blinded file; JHE is single-anonymized — keep the title page with author details and do not scrub acknowledgments or self-citations.
• Data/code: the AEA mandates an openICPSR package the Data Editor verifies before publication; JHE only encourages deposit and asks for a Data Availability Statement — so the burden shifts from a forced build to honest documentation of a (often restricted) access path.
• Length: AEA outlets have working length norms; JHE explicitly takes any length and encourages short papers, so a tight result need not be inflated.
• Stars: AEA permits significance stars; JHE/Elsevier also permits them, but SEs and clustering remain the load-bearing reporting object either way.

Anti-patterns

• Over-anonymizing for double-blind when JHE is single-anonymized (wasted effort, signals wrong target)
• Padding a clean short paper to look like a full-length article when JHE encourages short papers
• Submitting with "data available on request" instead of a specific Data Availability Statement
• Omitting standard errors / clustering from exhibits, or notes that are not self-contained
• Assuming the abstract limit, JEL requirement, or APC from memory instead of re-checking the live guide
• Forgetting the Declaration of Generative AI or the competing-interest statement
• Submitting while the same manuscript is under review at another journal (one-at-a-time rule)

Output format

【Portal】Editorial Manager (editorialmanager.com/jhlthec) ready? [Y/N]
【Review model】single-anonymized — NOT over-anonymized? [Y/N]
【Front matter】1–7 keywords + abstract (limit 待核实) + JEL if required? [Y/N]
【Exhibits】SEs + clustering shown, notes self-contained? [Y/N]
【Data Availability Statement】specific (data/holder/mechanism/path)? [Y/N]
【Declarations】competing interest + funding + GenAI; no AI author? [Y/N]
【Next step】submit via Editorial Manager → jhe-rebuttal after the decision

After you press submit

Editorial Manager will route the manuscript to a handling editor who decides whether it goes to review; suitable papers go to ≥2 health-economist referees (检索于 2026-06；以官网为准). There is no double-blind step to clear, so a desk decision turns on fit and credibility, not anonymization mechanics — which is why the upstream work (jhe-topic-selection for fit, jhe-identification for design) does the heavy lifting. Keep the response-letter machinery (jhe-rebuttal) ready; if the decision is an R&R, you will re-enter the pack at the owning skill for each binding concern before resubmitting here.

Supplementary resources

• templates/checklist.md — pre-submission self-check
• templates/manuscript_template.md — lightweight manuscript scaffold
• ../../resources/official-source-map.md — official URLs and volatile facts

Handoff boundary

This is the final preflight; it checks the package is complete and policy-compliant, not whether the science is ready — that is the upstream specialists' job. If the preflight surfaces a substantive gap (a missing identification defense, an overclaimed welfare statement), do not submit: route back to the owning skill first. After submission, the next stop is jhe-rebuttal when the decision letter arrives.