Journal Submissions

Instructions for Authors

The regular deadline for submissions for the 33rd Volume (Summer 2024) is January 30, 2024.

A special deadline for those presenting at the annual IPE conference will be March 15. Email the editors at IPE@lists.elon.edu with other questions. 

Submissions coming in after these deadlines will be reviewed in the fall of 2024 for the 2025 issues.

Before submitting your paper, please ensure that your paper follows the IPE Style Guide.

To submit your paper, please email the following information in a message to IPE Editor at IPE@lists.elon.edu.

  1. In the subject line, write IPE SUBMISSION.
    • Submitting your paper to IPE does not automatically put you on the EEA program. So, if you wish to present your paper at the EEAs, please send a separate email to EEA@lists.elon.edu.
  2. Author’s (student’s) complete current mailing address
  3. Author’s (student’s) current email address
  4. Faculty sponsor’s complete current mailing address
  5. Faculty sponsor’s email address
  6. Include your paper as an email attachment. Your paper should be sent as a Microsoft Word file. It is important that you name the files as follows: lastname.doc. If you have a common name, such as smith, please name it as lastnamefirstinitial.doc.
  7. After you have submitted your paper, you should expect to receive confirmation from the Editor within a week. If not, please write back to make sure it was received.

New volumes are posted online in July of each year.

Style Guide

All manuscripts must be submitted electronically in Microsoft Word format. Additionally, all manuscripts should adhere to the style guidelines below. Issues in Political Economy follows the style guidelines set forth by the Chicago Manual of Style. For a complete guide to this style, please refer to:

Turabian, Kate L. 1996. A manual for writers of term papers, theses, and dissertations. 6d. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.

Below are some specifics:

  • SPACING: Single space the entire document (NO space between paragraphs, indent only)
  • TITLE: The title and byline should be placed at the top of the first page of the text. Please include your school affiliation.
  • HEADINGS: Do not begin with “introduction” as a section head. Subsequent section headings should be given Roman numerals (I. LITERATURE REVIEW, II. THEORY, etc.); subsections should be lettered A., B., etc.
  • REFERENCES: Follow the CHICAGO STYLE; this section should be labeled REFERENCES.
  • ENDNOTES: Must be single-spaced on a separate page from the text and placed at the end of the manuscript. Label this section ENDNOTES.
  • EQUATIONS: Mathematical equations should be typed on separate lines and numbered consecutively at the left margin, using Arabic numbers in parentheses (ex: (1), (2)). Variable names should be in CAPS and italicized (ex: Y=f(INCOME, AGE, or “The variable AGE is insignificantly different from zero.”)
  • SUBSCRIPTS: Subscripts and Superscripts must be easily distinguished from regular variables and from each other. Multiple subscripts or superscripts are separated with commas if there is no mathematical relationship. Use only two levels of sub- and superscripts.
  • TABLES: Tables should be numbered consecutively with Arabic numbers. Please maintain a 1-inch margin at sides, top, and bottom of each page. Do not use any shading. Do not send reduced photocopies of tables. Do not have any vertical column lines. Do not abbreviate in column headings. Spell out “percent”; do not use the percent sign. Place a zero in front of the decimal point in all decimal fractions (i.e., 0.357, not .357). Limit to 3 decimal places.
  • FIGURES: Figures should be large enough to be readable when the figure is reduced. Do not put borders around the outside of the Figure. Figure title should be placed below the figure.
  • APPENDICIES: Authors are encouraged to use an Appendix for technical proofs and/or data that can be separated from the main text. The Appendix should begin on a new page following the text, preceding the references. Designate multiple Appendices A, B, C, as necessary. Number equations, theorems, propositions, etc., within the Appendix as (A1), etc.
  • STYLE: Avoid overcapitalization and excessive underlining or italics for emphasis. Use quotation marks only for the first occurrence of terms with special meaning.

If you have any questions, please telephone issues for clarification: (540) 654-1483 or (336) 278-5943.

Tips for Authors

The following tips are meant to help you improve the chances that your paper will be accepted.

  • Make sure you have a clear thesis statement in the introduction of your paper. Your thesis may be in the form of a statement or a question. The key is that early in your paper, you need to clearly explain exactly what you are going to investigate and how you are going to go about investigating your question or problem.
  • Think about your audience. When you write, try to anticipate the questions that your reader may have. Remember that your reader is trying to understand everything about your research.
  • Write with the objective of making your arguments clear, concise, and easy to understand.
  • Pay close attention to the quality of your economic reasoning.
  • Make your paper topic interesting by explaining why your research project is worth doing at all and also be sure to tell your reader what is significant about your conclusions and why they are interesting.
  • If you use tables and figures, be sure to refer to them in your text.
  • Avoid spelling and grammatical errors. While the reviewers of paper submissions are ultimately looking for good economic research, excessive errors will distract the reviewer from the content of your paper and as a result, your paper may be looked upon unfavorably as a result.
  • Do not forget to properly cite your sources! Papers that are submitted should have proper citations.
  • While it is preferable to use third person when writing a research paper, as long as you are consistent throughout the paper, the editorial staff is indifferent to which you actually use.

Finally, here are a couple of excellent references:

McCoskey, D. 1985. Economical writing in Economic inquiry 24: 187-222.

Greenlaw, Steven A. 2006. Doing economics: A guide to understanding and carrying out economic research. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

Wyrick, Thomas. 1994. The economist’s handbook: A research and writing guide. St. Paul, Minn.: West Publishing.

Frequently Asked Questions

What happens after a paper is submitted?

The Journal Editor will assign your paper to an associate editor (this is a double blind review process, thus only the Editor knows who the author is, and the author does not know the referees). The associate editor will make sure that your paper is reviewed by two student referees. This happens in the first week of February. These referee reports are due to their associate editor by mid-February. At that time, the associate editor compiles the comments from each reviewer and puts together a report to the Editor suggesting whether the paper should be accepted, accepted providing certain revisions are made to improve the paper, or rejected. The editorial board meets at the Eastern Economics Association conference and gives their recommendations to the Editor. The week following this meeting, the Editor writes letters to the authors about the status of their paper.

What happens if my paper is accepted?

If the paper has been well-received by the referees, student authors are typically asked to make a number of revisions and also to make sure that the paper conforms to the IPE style guidelines. Authors are given a date (usually about 4 weeks) in which the paper must be resubmitted in order to be included in the coming issue. The Editor has final say regarding the ultimate acceptance of each paper. If acceptable revisions are not made by the author, the Editor has the right to request further revisions, in which case, the paper will be considered for the following year’s edition.

What happens if my paper is not accepted?

If the Editor has indicated substantial revisions are necessary before further consideration can be given, you are certainly welcome to revise your paper and resubmit it either within the current period or for the following year. Any questions should be sent to the Editor at ipe@lists.elon.edu.