Information for Authors
Submission of Manuscripts
All manuscripts are to be submitted online. Information and instructions on manuscript submission. All submissions must be prepared in accordance with the following instructions.
Submissions should not normally exceed 7500 words and should be prefaced by an abstract of no longer than 150 words, together with up to five keywords, three JEL classifications and an address for correspondence. Authors submitting a manuscript do so on the understanding that if it is accepted for publication, exclusive licence of the article shall be granted to the Society.
Journal of Economic Literature (JEL) Classification Codes
The Journal offers browse-by-subject using JEL codes. Authors should provide the relevant JEL codes upon submission.
Submission Policy
The Cambridge Journal of Economics, founded in the traditions of Marx, Keynes, Kalecki, Joan Robinson and Kaldor, welcomes contributions from heterodox economics as well as other social science disciplines. Within this orientation the journal provides a focus for theoretical, applied, interdisciplinary, history of thought and methodological work, with strong emphasis on realistic analysis, the development of critical perspectives, the provision and use of empirical evidence, and the construction of policy. The Editors welcome submissions in this spirit on economic and social issues including, but not only, unemployment, inflation, the organisation of production, the distribution of the social product, class conflict, economic underdevelopment, globalisation and international economic integration, changing forms and boundaries of markets and planning, and uneven development and instability in the world economy.
The Cambridge Journal of Economics runs on cooperative principles and although individual editors may take the lead at various stages in the journal’s processes all decisions are collective.
All papers submitted to the Cambridge Journal of Economics go through a process of preliminary assessment which is carried out collectively by the editorial board at its regular meetings. Papers will not be sent to peer review if they do not pass this process, for example in cases where the editors feel that the author has not followed journal guidance on the use of mathematics/econometrics in their submission; in cases where it is felt that the submission is outside the journal’s scope or where the submission is insufficiently developed as an academic paper. Papers will also not be sent to peer review if the editorial board feels that they are too narrow in scope, not sufficiently heterodox in orientation or do not add sufficiently to existing debates in the literature. The Editors regard decisions made on the basis of the preliminary assessment process as final.
Papers which are to be considered further are sent to peer review and then undergo a process of editorial assessment. The results of peer review and the editorial assessment process are considered by the editorial board in making a final decision on a paper.
CJE editorial decisions are made collectively by an editorial board. CJE has an appeal process in place for editorial decisions where papers have been rejected following peer review. The Editors do not expect frequent appeals and they rarely reverse their original decisions but if you wish to appeal a journal decision on your paper, please submit a letter to the journal’s Managing Editor (cje@cpes.org.uk). Please explain clearly the basis for an appeal, providing evidence if you believe a reviewer has made technical errors in their assessment of your manuscript.
Editors will consider one appeal per article and all decisions on appeals are final. The timely review and decision-making process for new submissions will take precedence over appeals.
Use of Mathematics
Authors are asked to use mathematics only when its application does not compromise realistic analysis. Similarly, econometrics should be used only when its application is essential for drawing relevant and valid inferences from statistical data. Neither method should be used merely to demonstrate technical expertise. Where they are used the major steps in the argument should be made intelligible to a non-mathematical/econometric reader, with the mathematical/econometric parts of the argument put into an appendix.
Use of AI
Natural language processing tools driven by artificial intelligence such as ChatGPT do not qualify as authors, and OUP will screen for them in author lists. The use of AI (for example, to help generate content or images, write code, process data, or for translation) must be disclosed both in cover letters to editors and in the Methods or Acknowledgments section of manuscripts.
Please also see OUP's Ethics page.
Data Access Policy
To facilitate the verification and replication of results, authors of accepted papers are encouraged to submit data sets, programs, and information on empirical analysis. This material will be published alongside the article on the CJE website, and can be accessed through the 'supplementary data' link. However, authors should not submit data or files if publication would breach the rights of a third party or if any individuals are identifiable from the data.
Please note files must be supplied in the following formats: Word document, PDF, Power point, Excel, tiff, JPEG, and eps.
Layout
All copies must be in Journal style (see a recent issue), and double spaced (including footnotes and references). Footnotes should be kept to a minimum, indicated by superscript figures in the text. Please do not use the automatic footnote feature of your word processing program. Tables and figures should be attached on separate sheets at the end of the manuscript and their position indicated in the text. Citations in the text should use the Harvard System of short references (e.g. Isenman, 1980, pp. 66-7; Brown, 1975A, 1993B) with a full alphabetical list at the end in the following style:
- Isenman, P. 1980. Basic needs: the case of Sri Lanka, World Development , vol. 8, no. 3, 237-58
- Myrdal, G. 1939. Monetary Equilibrium , London, Hodge
- Phillips, A.W.H. 1953. 'Dynamic Models in Economics', PhD Thesis, University of London
- If you use EndNote and/or Reference Manager to facilitate referencing citations (not required for submission), this journal's style is available for use.
Figures
All figures submitted to the journal in colour will be published in colour online at no cost (unless the author specifically requests that their figures be in black and white online). Authors may choose to also publish their figures in colour in the print journal: you will be asked to approve this cost after your article is accepted for publication. Black and white figures will be printed without additional cost, but figures that may be converted from colour to black and white should be well prepared with high contrast, and must have a resolution of at least 300 DPI at their final size. Figure captions must be suitably worded to apply to both the print and online versions of the article.
The charge for printed colour figures is £350 per figure.
Further information on figures.
Figure accessibility and alt text
Incorporating alt text (alternative text) when submitting your paper helps to foster inclusivity and accessibility. Good alt text ensures that individuals with visual impairments or those using screen readers can comprehend the content and context of your figures. The aim of alt text is to provide concise and informative descriptions of your figure so that all readers have access to the same level of information and understanding, and that all can engage with and benefit from the visual elements integral to scholarly content. Including alt text demonstrates a commitment to accessibility and enhances the overall impact and reach of your work.
Alt text is applicable to all images, figures, illustrations, and photographs.
Alt text is only accessible via e-reader and so it won’t appear as part of the typeset article.
Detailed guidance on how to draft and submit alt text.
Advance Access Citation
Papers published in Advance Access are citeable using the DOI and publication date. An example of an Advance Access citation is given below:
- Brammer, S and Millington, A. 'Profit maximisation vs. agency: an analysis of charitable giving by UK firms', Cambridge Journal of Economics Advance Access published April 4, 2005, doi:10.1093/cje/bei036.
The same paper in its final form would be cited:
- Brammer, S. and Millington, A. 'Profit maximisation vs. agency: an analysis of charitable giving by UK firms', Cambridge Journal of Economics , 29 (4), pp. 517-534. First published April 4, 2005: doi:10.1093/cje/bei036.
Comments on Published Articles
Before submitting a comment (normally no more than 1500 words) on any article published in the Journal, a copy of the comment should be sent to the author of the original article with a request they respond to any points of possible misunderstanding. The comment should not be submitted for publication before this response has been received unless the original author does not reply within a reasonable time.
Copyright
Upon receipt of accepted manuscripts at Oxford Journals authors will be invited to complete an online copyright licence to publish form.
Please note that by submitting an article for publication you confirm that you are the corresponding/submitting author and that Oxford University Press ("OUP") may retain your email address for the purpose of communicating with you about the article. You agree to notify OUP immediately if your details change. If your article is accepted for publication OUP will contact you using the email address you have used in the registration process. Please note that OUP does not retain copies of rejected articles.
© Cambridge Political Economy Society 2013. All rights reserved; no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without either the prior written permission of the Publishers, or a licence permitting restricted copying issued in the UK by the Copyright Licensing Agency Ltd, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London W1P 9HE, or in the USA by the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, Mass 01923, USA.
It is a condition of publication in the Journal that authors exclusively licence copyright to the Cambridge Political Economy Society. This ensures that requests from third parties to reproduce articles are handled efficiently and consistently and will also allow the article to be as widely disseminated as possible. In exclusively licensing copyright, authors may use their own material in other publications provided that the Journal is acknowledged as the original place of publication and the reuse is non-commercial. For further information, please see the section 'What rights do I retain as an Oxford Journal author?'. In consideration for granting the exclusive licence, the publisher will supply the author free url access to their article. The free url allows readers free access to the full text of your paper whether or not they are a subscriber to the journal.
Open Access
Cambridge Journal of Economics offers the option of publishing under either a standard licence or an open access licence. Please note that some funders require open access publication as a condition of funding. If you are unsure whether you are required to publish open access, please do clarify any such requirements with your funder or institution.
Should you wish to publish your article open access, you should select your choice of open access licence in our online system after your article has been accepted for publication. You will need to pay an open access charge to publish under an open access licence.
Details of the open access licences and open access charges.
OUP has a growing number of Read and Publish agreements with institutions and consortia which provide funding for open access publishing. This means authors from participating institutions can publish open access, and the institution may pay the charge. Find out if your institution is participating.
Third-Party Content in Open Access papers
If you will be publishing your paper under an Open Access licence but it contains material for which you do not have Open Access re-use permissions, please state this clearly by supplying the following credit line alongside the material:
Title of content
Author, Original publication, year of original publication, by permission of [rights holder]
This image/content is not covered by the terms of the Creative Commons licence of this publication. For permission to reuse, please contact the rights holder.
Author Self-Archiving/Public Access Policy
For information about this journal's policy, please visit our Author Self-Archiving policy page.
Pre-Publication Policy
The Cambridge Journal of Economics does not accept papers that have been previously published elsewhere with the exception of working papers series. The Journal's policy regarding working paper series is:
- Pre-publication in working paper series is allowed where submission to the working paper series is prior to acceptance by the Journal.
- The working paper version may remain online after publication in the Journal.
- The working paper version should NOT be updated after acceptance by the Journal.
- Authors are requested to append the appropriate citation to the working paper version on acceptance by the Journal (if the working paper series allows this).
Crossref Funding Data Registry
In order to meet your funding requirements authors are required to name their funding sources, or state if there are none, during the submission process. For further information on this process or to find out more about CHORUS, visit the CHORUS initiative.
Peer Review Policy
This journal operates double-anonymized peer review, meaning that the authors’ identities are hidden from reviewers, and the reviewers’ identities are hidden from authors. The Editors have oversight of the reviewers’ and the authors’ names. For full details about the peer review process, see Fair editing and peer review.
