Submission Preflight (jpe-submission)

When to trigger

• "Submitting tomorrow" — the last mechanical check before pressing submit
• Unsure what the Editorial Express portal requires as separate files
• Confirming format, references, and fee handling are correct

JPE (founded 1892, edited at the University of Chicago; lead editor Esteban Rossi-Hansberg) is published by the University of Chicago Press and processed through the Editorial Express system (author portal: editorialmanager.com/jpolec). Review is single-blind (referees see authors; authors do not see referees), so author-anonymization is not required — this differs from a double-blind journal. A submission fee applies: $250 for nonsubscribers, $125 for individual JPE subscribers, non-refundable even if the paper is desk-rejected; a waiver is available to authors who completed three or more JPE referee reports in the prior 12 months. Since the 2023 launch of the companion journals JPE Microeconomics (lead editor John List) and JPE Macroeconomics (lead editor Greg Kaplan), decide up front whether your paper targets the flagship JPE or a field companion. Verify the current fee and guidelines on the official page before submitting; everything below is the durable structure of a JPE submission.

Pre-submission checklist

Format

• Manuscript is a single PDF, double-spaced, with figures/tables either embedded or at the end per current guidelines
• Sections ordered logically (intro → model/theory → data → strategy → results → mechanisms/robustness → conclusion)
• Equations numbered and referenced as "equation (n)"
• Figures legible in grayscale; tables self-contained with full notes
• Online appendix prepared as a separate file (proofs, full robustness, descriptive tables)

References (house style)

• Chicago author-date citations throughout (e.g., "Becker 1968") — not numbered/bracket
• Reference list complete and consistently formatted in University of Chicago Press author-date style
• Every in-text citation appears in the list; every list entry is cited
• Canonical theory the paper engages is cited (a frequent referee snag)

Review model & identity (JPE is single-blind)

• Confirm target: flagship JPE, or companion JPE Microeconomics / JPE Macroeconomics
• Author identities are visible to referees, so no manuscript anonymization is required (single-blind)
• Title page with authors, affiliations, acknowledgments, and funding included

Fee & policy

• Submission fee ready: $250 nonsubscriber / $125 JPE subscriber (non-refundable even on desk reject)
• If you completed 3+ JPE referee reports in the last 12 months, request the fee waiver before paying
• Data and code availability policy (JPE endorses DCAS) reviewed; replication package staged (see jpe-replication-package)
• Not under review elsewhere; no duplicate/overlapping submission

Exhibits & supplementary

• Main-text exhibits report economic magnitudes, not stars alone
• Online appendix complete and referenced from the main text
• Any restricted-data documentation prepared

Author info & metadata

• Title, abstract, JEL codes, and keywords entered in the portal
• All co-authors and affiliations correct; corresponding author set
• Suggested referees (and any opposed referees) prepared with brief justification

Editorial Express operational notes

• Register/log in to the JPE Editorial Express / Editorial Manager portal; have title, abstract, JEL codes, and the PDF ready before starting.
• Upload the manuscript PDF; attach the online appendix and cover letter as the portal requests.
• Complete the $250/$125 fee step (or apply the 3-reports waiver); the paper is not forwarded to editors until the fee clears, and the fee is non-refundable even if desk-rejected.
• Confirm the submission acknowledgment email and manuscript number arrive.

Anti-patterns

• Wasting effort anonymizing the manuscript — JPE is single-blind, so author identity is expected
• Numbered citations left in from a different journal's template instead of Chicago author-date
• Paying the $250 fee when you qualified for the 3-referee-reports waiver
• Forgetting the submission fee step, so the paper never reaches an editor
• Sending a pure macro (or pure micro) paper to the flagship without considering the JPE Macro / JPE Micro companion
• JEL codes or keywords omitted in the portal; online appendix referenced in text but not uploaded

Output format

【Target】flagship JPE / JPE Micro / JPE Macro
【Format】single PDF, double-spaced, exhibits OK? [y/n]
【References】Chicago author-date verified; list complete? [y/n]
【Review model】single-blind — no anonymization needed [confirm]
【Fee】$250 nonsub / $125 sub, or 3-reports waiver requested? [y/n]
【Replication】DCAS package staged per policy? [y/n]
【Portal metadata】title/abstract/JEL/keywords/referees entered? [y/n]
【Next】await decision / on R&R → jpe-rebuttal

Bundled resources

• templates/manuscript_template.md — JPE manuscript skeleton (section order, author-date references, variable table)
• templates/checklist.md — pre-submission self-check across format, references, single-blind review, fee, exhibits, and portal
• ../../resources/external_tools.md — economics data sources and Stata / R / Python packages for identification, structural estimation, and replication