Applied Economics Research Bulletin

 

About the Applied Economics Research Bulletin

The aim of the Applied Economics Research Bulletin is to foster free and extremely rapid dissemination of papers. We see ourselves as a rapid alternative to journals like Economics Letters, Marketing Letters, Economics Bulletin, or the Review of Marketing Science.

 

High quality manuscripts that deal with any domain of Economics, Marketing and JDM are welcome.  While mathematical works are especially welcome, we are equally open to papers using experimental approaches, survey research and other methodologies. Preliminary results and short notes are also welcome.  Papers normally targeted at journals like Economics Letters or Marketing Letters would be especially appropriate. We expect that manuscripts published in the Applied Economics Research Bulletin will, in some cases, form the foundations for more refined works that will subsequently be submitted to other leading journals.

The Applied Economics Research Bulletin is a peer-reviewed outlet. But we use a different and innovative approach, which we believe will be the direction all journal publishing will move in the future:

- Immediate dissemination : While readers want to have immediate access to the latest research, it typically takes years before an article can appear in a journal. Even an outlet like Economics Letters takes several months to a year. At the Applied Economics Research Bulletin, the manuscript gets published in days, sometimes even within hours of submitting the manuscript. Our publication lag is limited only by the time it takes our AEs to read your manuscript and convey an accept/reject decision. We strive to give you a decision in 24 hours for working papers; regular manuscripts take longer (however, given that we intend to publish manuscripts of very high quality, we expect only a small proportion of submitted papers will be accepted).

- Review process: We are a selective outlet with a unique review process that facilitates rapid acceptance/rejection of submitted manuscripts. The Associate Editors immediately put the papers you submit into the hands of eminent researchers who serve as what we call Article Editors (AE). The function of the AE is to assess the contribution of the manuscript and convey an immediate accept/reject decision. The AE assumes complete responsibility for the manuscript. In many cases, we will adopt a three-tiered review process, with the first AE checking for obvious flaws and errors in the manuscript, the second AE assessing the probability of the research being subsequently published in other leading journals (or assessing the paper's contribution) and one of the Associate Editors signing off on it. The manuscript will not be accepted for publication in the Applied Economics Research Bulletin unless both AEs give it a thumbs up and one of the Associate Editors ratifies it.

- Regular Papers or Working Papers:  Realizing that commercial journals, whose main goal is almost never the dissemination of your research, will probably not be eager to publish a manuscript that has already been published in the Applied Economics Research Bulletin or in a similar outlet, we offer researchers the option of submitting a manuscript as either a Regular Paper or as a Peer-Reviewed Working Paper. Manuscripts submitted to the AER Bulletin Peer-Reviewed Working Paper Series will be processed more quickly while manuscripts submitted as Regular Papers will have (relatively) longer lead times and will be held to a higher reviewing standard.

 

- Confirmations, Extensions welcome:  The Applied Economics Research Bulletin is a unique journal in that we welcome confirmations and extensions of previous research studies.  We believe confirmations and extensions serve a social value and it is unfortunate that many journals frown upon them.

 

- Public record: We expect that manuscripts published in the Applied Economics Research Bulletin will form the foundations for more refined works that will subsequently be submitted to other leading journals. However, immediate publication of your manuscript in the Bulletin helps create a public record of when and where the research idea originated. This limits plagiarism that can plague working papers and also impedes unintentional duplication of research by fellow academics. At the same time, it opens up opportunities for dialog and collaboration with other researchers.

- No manuscript style: All journals have specific requirements on manuscript length, format, style in which references or tables are laid out, etc. Even the Economics Bulletin has very specific requirements. This can be very annoying to researchers. We trust your judgment and in the interest of prompt dissemination of ideas, we have absolutely no such requirements. No 6- or 8-page limits either. The manuscript can be as long or as short as you want and in whatever style or format you wish.

- No subscription costs: Most academic journals are controlled by commercial publishing houses and institutional subscription to the journals costs several thousand dollars. This is not only unaffordable to universities in developing nations but also is in direct conflict with wide dissemination of research. The Applied Economics Research Bulletin, since it is an electronic journal, is completely free and is committed to be free to our readers in the future.  The journal is committed to remaining a non-commercial undertaking.

- You retain the copyright: Journal publishers insist that authors transfer copyright of accepted papers as a condition of publication. It is illegal for authors to post their own published articles on their own websites or give copies of their published papers to their students. Journals also make researchers give up all commercial interest in their work as a condition of publishing. In contrast, the Applied Economics Research Bulletin allows authors to retain all rights and we merely ask that we be permitted to disseminate your research as widely as possible.

 

- This is truly your journal: This is a very unique journal in that the Applied Economics Research Bulletin does not intend to have an Editor!  The objective is to have a community of researchers who are interested in disseminating their research, rather than having egos and personalities to contend with. Instead, manuscript acceptance or rejection is determined by highly competent Article Editors (AEs) who, like all reviewers, volunteer their services anonymously. The AEs assume complete responsibility for the manuscript.  And we are always looking for eminent researchers to serve as volunteer Article Editors. Since you are the AEs, this is truly your journal.

 

- Experimentation and innovation: We are a very flexible outlet that is always open to new suggestions and innovative ideas.  For instance, we would be open to publishing a manuscript that has already been published elsewhere, if you can convince the AEs that your work needs renewed visibility (it would be your responsibility to get the necessary copyright clearance).  In the future, we plan to experiment with more innovative approaches to publishing, for example, we may pay the AEs for their services.  We believe all journals, especially commercial journals, need to move in the direction of paying reviewers for their time. 

The Applied Economics Research Bulletin is committed to accepting only work of very high quality.  This journal is a non-commercial undertaking and a service provided by the Berkeley Mathemarketics Group.  The Applied Economics Research Bulletin belongs to the entire community of researchers; hence after the journal is up and running it will be housed at various universities and research institutions who can commit to running this journal in a completely non-commercial, open-access manner. 

 

For details, contact the Special Issue Editors:

More details here.

 

Edited by Thomas Jeitschko

More details here.