"Submitting tomorrow" — last check before uploading to Elsevier Editorial Manager
Unsure which files and declarations the Elsevier submission expects
Confirming the abstract, Highlights, keywords, JEL codes, and references are JIMF/Elsevier-compliant
Confirming the Data Availability Statement, competing-interest declaration, and CRediT statement are ready
Process facts (检索于 2026-06；以官网为准 — re-confirm on the live Guide for Authors)
JIMF is an Elsevier journal (ISSN 0261-5606 print; 1873-0639 online; founded 1982), hosted on ScienceDirect. Submission is through Elsevier Editorial Manager (待核实 if the journal has moved to a newer Elsevier submission system).
No society membership and no submission fee for a standard paper; an open-access APC applies only if the author chooses gold OA (exact fee 待核实).
Peer review: single-anonymized is the Elsevier default; whether JIMF uses single- or double-anonymized review is 待核实 — confirm before deciding whether to anonymize the manuscript.
Declarations required by Elsevier: Declaration of Competing Interest, CRediT author-contribution statement, funding sources, and a Data Availability Statement.
Editors (verified 2026-06-22): Joshua Aizenman, Menzie D. Chinn, John Beirne, and Donghyun Park. Note that some aggregators (IDEAS-RePEc, older caches) still list the late James R. Lothian — that is stale; do not use it. The board is volatile, so re-verify the sitting editors on the live Elsevier board page before naming one in a cover letter.
Preflight checklist
Manuscript & front matter
Title page with all affiliations and the corresponding author
Abstract ≤250 words, factual, with the headline magnitude
Highlights (3–5 bullets, each a finding); keywords; JEL codes present
Figures and tables with self-contained notes; consistent reference style (Elsevier/author-date — 待核实 exact style)
Acronyms defined on first use (UIP, ERPT, GFCy, FXI, NEER)
Online/supplementary appendix prepared and indexed (see jimf-internet-appendix)
Substantive checks done first (identification, robustness, positioning) — this is the mechanics pass, not a content review
References complete and consistent; in-text citations all resolve in the list
Files & declarations for Editorial Manager
Main manuscript (and a blinded version if double-anonymized review is confirmed)
Highlights file, and any supplementary appendix file(s)
Data Availability Statement; data/code deposit (Mendeley Data or repository link) ready
Suggested reviewers if the journal requests them; cover letter naming the international contribution
Blinded manuscript prepared if double-anonymized review is confirmed (待核实)
OA choice decided; APC not confused with a submission fee
Cover letter
One paragraph: the international question, the design, the headline finding, and why it is JIMF (not JIE/JME/JMCB/JFE)
Confirms the paper is not under review elsewhere and is original
Does NOT name a specific editor from memory (verify the board first)
Deciding on the Econometrica/transfer and OA questions
No transfer route like the society journals: JIMF is a standalone Elsevier journal; there is no fee-waived transfer of reports from a sibling. A paper rejected elsewhere is a fresh submission here.
Open access is a choice, not a requirement. JIMF is a subscription journal with an optional gold-OA route at an APC (exact fee 待核实). Do not treat the APC as a submission fee; standard submission carries no fee.
Anonymization depends on the review model: if double-anonymized is confirmed, prepare a blinded manuscript (no author names, scrubbed acknowledgments, neutral self-citations) and a separate title page; if single-anonymized, the author-visible manuscript is fine. Confirm before deciding (待核实).
Suggested/opposed reviewers: if Editorial Manager requests them, suggest international-finance specialists in the paper's sub-program and avoid conflicts.
Final-pass desk-reject screen
Before uploading, read the paper as an editor doing a 10-minute triage: Is the international contribution unmistakable on page 1? Is the abstract under 250 words with a number? Are Highlights, keywords, and JEL present? Is the cover letter saying why JIMF and not a sibling? Is the data/code deposit attached, not promised? A "no" on any of these is a common, avoidable desk-reject and should be fixed before submission, not after.
What this preflight does not do
This is a mechanics-and-compliance check, not a content review. It confirms the file set, front matter, declarations, and house style are submission-ready; it does not judge whether the identification holds (jimf-identification), whether the result is robust (jimf-robustness), or whether the contribution is staked (jimf-literature-positioning). Run those substantive checks first; a perfectly formatted submission with a weak design wastes a review cycle. The preflight's value is catching the avoidable rejections — missing Highlights, an over-long abstract, an absent data statement, a cover letter that never says why JIMF.
Anti-patterns
Uploading without Highlights, keywords, or JEL codes — a visible Elsevier-compliance gap
An abstract over 250 words or with undefined acronyms
Missing the Declaration of Competing Interest, CRediT statement, or Data Availability Statement
A cover letter that does not say why the paper is international money and finance specifically
Naming a current editor from memory when the board page is the source of truth
Treating the data/code deposit as a post-acceptance task instead of attaching it now
Output format
【Front matter】abstract ≤250w + Highlights + keywords + JEL? [Y/N]
【Declarations】competing interest + CRediT + funding + data statement? [Y/N]
【Files】manuscript (+ blinded if needed) + Highlights + appendix + deposit ready? [Y/N]
【Cover letter】states the international contribution; no editor named from memory? [Y/N]
【Review model】single/double-anonymized confirmed? [Y/N / 待核实]
【Source check】Elsevier process facts verified / 待核实 / 检索于 2026-06
【Next step】submit via Editorial Manager → jimf-referee-strategy for what to expect
