Submission Preflight (qje-submission)

When to trigger

• "Submitting tomorrow" — last check before pressing submit on Editorial Express
• Unsure which files Editorial Express expects at the initial-submission stage
• Confirming the single-PDF format, double-blind anonymization, and author-date style are QJE-compliant
• Checking declarations and supplementary-materials requirements

Process facts (verified; re-confirm specifics on the official page)

• QJE is published by Oxford University Press and edited at Harvard University's Department of Economics — the oldest English-language economics journal (founded 1886) and one of the top-5. Source: academic.oup.com/qje; Wikipedia.
• Submission is through Editorial Express at editorialexpress.com/qje — the same Express platform used by several econ journals, not OUP's ScholarOne. Admin contact: qje_admin@editorialexpress.com.
• There is no submission fee. This is unusual among top-5 journals (AER, JPE, REStud all charge); do not budget for one. QJE is hybrid open access, so an optional OA charge applies only after acceptance if you choose it.
• Initial submission is a single PDF containing the full manuscript, tables, figures, and appendices. No Word files, no LaTeX source, no separate figure files at this stage — source files are requested only after acceptance.
• QJE uses double-blind refereeing — the manuscript must be fully anonymized.
• The editorial team — five Editors, all at Harvard (Robert J. Barro, Lawrence F. Katz, Nathan Nunn, Andrei Shleifer, and Stefanie Stantcheva, masthead re-verified 2026-06-22; re-check before submitting) — makes fast desk decisions (roughly two weeks), the quickest among the top-5 flagships, so a clean, complete submission is part of clearing the first screen. (Acceptance runs ~1-4%; desk-reject ~60%+.)

Preflight checklist

Format & style

• One single PDF with manuscript, tables, figures, and appendices embedded (no Word, no separate figure files)
• References in author-date (Chicago) style; reference list alphabetical by surname
• Abstract is short (target ~150 words)
• Tables and figures numbered, called out in order, with self-contained notes
• Long manuscripts are fine (no hard page limit); an extensive online appendix is expected
• PDF compiles cleanly; figures legible at print resolution

Anonymization (double-blind — required)

• No author names, affiliations, or acknowledgments in the PDF
• Self-citations phrased neutrally ("Smith (2020) shows", not "in our earlier work")
• PDF metadata/properties scrubbed of author identity
• Acknowledgments and funding info kept out of the body, supplied separately

Files for Editorial Express

• Main manuscript as a single PDF (figures/tables/appendix embedded)
• Cover letter (concise: question, design, headline result, general-interest fit)
• Suggested / excluded referees prepared (expert, fair, conflict-free)
• Replication materials staged for the accepted stage (see qje-replication-package)

Declarations

• Conflict-of-interest / disclosure statement consistent with the AEA Disclosure Policy
• Funding and data-source disclosures prepared
• Confirmed the paper is not under review elsewhere

Final content sanity

• Abstract states the finding with a number (see qje-writing-style)
• Identification diagnostics complete (see qje-identification, qje-robustness)
• No over-claiming beyond what the design supports

Anti-patterns

• Uploading a Word file or separate figure files at initial submission (QJE wants one PDF)
• Mixed/inconsistent reference styles instead of clean author-date
• Leaving author identity in self-citations or PDF metadata under double-blind review
• Budgeting for a submission fee that does not exist at QJE
• A defensive, multi-page cover letter instead of a tight pitch the editors can read in two weeks
• Submitting a thin appendix to a journal that expects an extensive one

Output format

【Single PDF】one file, all exhibits + appendix embedded? [Y/N]
【Reference style】author-date (Chicago), consistent? [Y/N]
【Anonymization】body + PDF metadata clean (double-blind)? [Y/N]
【Files staged】PDF / cover letter / referees? [Y/N each]
【Declarations】AEA disclosure / funding prepared? [Y/N]
【Content sanity】abstract states finding; identification complete? [Y/N]
【Next step】await ~2-week desk decision → qje-rebuttal on R&R

Supplementary resources

• templates/manuscript_template.md — QJE-oriented manuscript skeleton (abstract, intro arc, design, exhibits, author-date references)
• templates/checklist.md — 8-section pre-submission self-check
• ../../resources/external_tools.md — data sources and Stata/R/Python packages for credible-design empirical micro
• ../../resources/official-source-map.md — official QJE URLs behind every fact in this pack