---
name: jep-submission
description: Use when running the final pre-submission preflight for a Journal of Economic Perspectives (JEP) proposal or manuscript — email-based submission, the accessibility bar, AEA front matter and disclosure, JEL codes, and open-access status. Final checks; it does not draft content.
---

# Submission Preflight (jep-submission)

## When to trigger

- "Sending the proposal/manuscript tomorrow" — last check before emailing the editors
- Unsure what JEP expects in a proposal vs. a manuscript and how to send it
- Confirming the accessibility bar, front matter, and AEA disclosure are met
- Verifying the piece reads as JEP (synthesis) and not as research or JEL

## Process facts (检索于 2026-06；以官网为准)

- JEP is the **American Economic Association's** open-access, non-technical synthesis journal (founded 1987; print ISSN 0895-3309, online ISSN 1944-7965; four issues/year), **freely available** at no charge.
- **Largely invited / commissioned.** Submit a **2–5 page proposal** (preferred over a finished manuscript); about **10–15%** of published articles originate as unsolicited proposals.
- **Submission method:** send the proposal (or paper) as a **Word or PDF email attachment to jep@aeapubs.org** — re-confirm the address on the official submissions page. There is no anonymous-referee portal; review is **editor-driven**.
- **Accessibility bar:** readable by **90 percent or more of the AEA membership**; "scholarly without relying too heavily on mathematical notation"; explain via economic intuition.
- **AEA policies apply:** disclosure policy (interested-party financial support summing to ≥ US$10,000 over three years; funding sources stated); AI cannot be an author; data-and-code availability applies to any empirical/simulation/experimental content at conditional acceptance (AEA Data and Code Repository). Re-confirm exact JEP application of each on the official pages.
- **House style:** AEA house style is applied by the copyeditor at acceptance — the submitted document need not pre-conform; write for **clarity**.

## Preflight checklist

### Is it JEP-shaped?
- [ ] A **synthesis for a broad audience**, not a new research result (else: research journal)
- [ ] Not the long technical **survey of record** (else: JEL)
- [ ] Rigorous **synthesis**, not an op-ed/advocacy piece
- [ ] Readable by ~90% of AEA members; no equations/proofs/asterisks in the body

### Proposal vs. manuscript
- [ ] If approaching cold: a **2–5 page proposal** (not a full manuscript) is what to send
- [ ] If invited: the draft matches the **agreed scope/angle/length** (see `jep-editor-strategy`)
- [ ] Sent as **Word or PDF** by email to **jep@aeapubs.org** (re-confirmed)

### Front matter & accessibility
- [ ] Plain-language, hook-forward **abstract** (no machinery); **JEL codes** and keywords per current AEA guidance
- [ ] First page conveys question + stakes + rough answer
- [ ] Exhibits self-explanatory; no significance asterisks or coefficient tables (`jep-exhibits-for-general-readers`)

### Declarations (AEA)
- [ ] **Disclosure statement** (interested-party ≥ US$10,000 / 3 yrs; funding sources or "none")
- [ ] **AI not listed as an author**
- [ ] If any empirical/simulation/experimental content: aware **data and code** are required at conditional acceptance (AEA Data and Code Repository)

## Anti-patterns

- Emailing a **full unsolicited manuscript** when JEP wants a 2–5 page proposal
- Sending a draft that still reads as a research paper or a JEL survey
- Equations, proofs, or significance asterisks left in the body
- Treating the open-access status as if there were an author-paid APC at submission
- Missing the AEA disclosure statement or listing AI as an author

## Output format

```
【JEP-shaped】synthesis (not research / not JEL / not op-ed)? [Y/N]
【Proposal vs. manuscript】2–5pp proposal (cold) or invited draft on-scope? [Y/N]
【Accessibility】readable by ~90% AEA; no body math/asterisks? [Y/N]
【Front matter】plain abstract + JEL + keywords? [Y/N]
【Declarations】AEA disclosure + AI-not-author (+ data/code if empirical)? [Y/N]
【Send】Word/PDF email to jep@aeapubs.org (re-confirmed)? [Y/N]
【Next step】await editor response → jep-revision when the letter arrives
```

## Supplementary resources

- [`templates/checklist.md`](templates/checklist.md) — 8-section pre-submission self-check
- [`../../resources/official-source-map.md`](../../resources/official-source-map.md) — official AEA/JEP URLs behind every fact