Submission Preflight (jel-submission)
When to trigger
- "Submitting tomorrow" — last check before uploading a proposal or full survey to the AEA portal
- Unsure which route (proposal vs. full paper) and which files the portal expects
- Confirming JEL codes, disclosure statements, and style-guide compliance
- Verifying the AEA data/code policy obligations for a survey that discusses empirical work
Process facts (检索于 2026-06；以官网为准 — re-confirm on the AEA JEL pages)
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Publisher / venue. JEL is published by the American Economic Association (AEA), founded 1969; it is the AEA's survey-of-record journal, distinct from JEP and AER. Submission is via the AEA's ScholarOne Manuscripts portal. The lead editor is David H. Romer (UC Berkeley) (appointed July 2022; re-verified 2026-06-22 — re-confirm the masthead on the AEA JEL page before relying).
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Two intake routes. (1) Proposal — a sketch of ~10 pages (excluding references) stating the contents, why the topic interests readers, and the main references to be covered; this is the efficient route. (2) Full paper — the journal also considers a complete survey; mechanics are the same as for a proposal. A pre-proposal email to the editor to test interest is welcomed (editor contact volatile — see
jel-proposal-and-commissioning).
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Disclosure (required). Each (co)author must prepare a separate PDF titled "Disclosure Statement" covering financial conflicts of interest and, where applicable, IRB approval. Submissions without these are treated as incomplete. AEA disclosure policy applies.
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Data & code. The AEA Data and Code Availability Policy applies; empirical work, simulations, or experimental methods that the survey itself reports must be documented for replication. (A pure survey reports no new data of its own; the obligation bites mainly on any original quantitative synthesis you contribute — see
jel-tables-figures.)
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JEL codes & keywords. Assign JEL classification codes (the system JEL maintains) and keywords per the style guide — see
jel-classification-system.
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Style / format. Follow the AEA / JEL Style Guide for manuscript formatting and references; AEA house style is applied at acceptance. Confirm any length, abstract, and anonymity specifics on the style-guide page (these are volatile and not assumed here).
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Fees. Any AEA submission fee is volatile — re-confirm on the AEA JEL page; do not assert an amount.
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Anonymity. Whether review is single- or double-blind for JEL surveys is not assumed here — confirm on the AEA JEL pages and prepare a title page / anonymized manuscript accordingly if required.
Preflight checklist
Route & files
Front matter
Declarations (incomplete without these)
Volatile re-confirms
Anti-patterns
- Uploading a full draft cold when a ~10-page proposal would have de-risked the project
- Omitting the per-author Disclosure Statement (renders the submission incomplete)
- Asserting a submission fee or editor name from memory rather than the live AEA page
- Submitting a survey with no JEL codes / keywords, or codes that contradict the framework
- Treating the AEA data/code policy as irrelevant to a survey that reports its own quantitative synthesis
Output format
【Route】proposal (~10pp) / full survey
【Proposal content】contents + reader interest + main references? Y/N (if proposal)
【JEL codes + keywords】assigned, verified, on title page? Y/N
【Disclosure】separate PDF per (co)author prepared? Y/N
【Data/code】AEA policy obligations met for any original synthesis? Y/N
【Volatile re-confirms】fee / editor / portal / anonymity checked on AEA page? Y/N
【Next step】submit via AEA ScholarOne → jel-editor-strategy for what to expect
Supplementary resources
