--- name: ecj-workflow description: Use when deciding which ecj-* sub-skill to invoke next, or when sequencing manuscript work from topic selection through rebuttal for a The Economic Journal (EJ) submission. Routes — it does not replace — the specialized skills. --- # EJ Workflow Router (ecj-workflow) ## Overview This is the router. It does not replace any specialized skill. It tells you **which ecj-* skill to use given where you are right now** in a manuscript aimed at *The Economic Journal* (EJ) — the **Royal Economic Society's** flagship general-interest journal, founded **1891** and published by **Oxford University Press**. EJ publishes across **all fields of economics**, theory and applied alike, for a **broad international readership**, and prizes work that is **technically well-crafted, makes a substantial contribution, and is of broad interest to economists at large**. Its house personality is **breadth of relevance plus clear exposition** — a sharp idea legible to a generalist beats a narrow result only specialists can read. Default assumption: unless the user says otherwise, treat the target as EJ. Operational tells that you are at EJ and not a sibling: submission is through the **Editorial Express** portal (not ScholarOne); review is **single-blind** (referees are anonymous to authors; authors are *not* anonymized); there is an explicit **short-paper option in the AER:Insights style (<6,000 words, 5 exhibits)** alongside full-length articles; and accepted empirical, experimental, and numerical papers go through an **EJ Data Editor reproducibility check** with the replication package deposited to **Zenodo** or another trusted repository. Editor-in-chief as of the 2026-06-20 source refresh: **Francesco Lippi**; Data Editor: **Damian Clarke**. Re-verify volatile fees, charges, and rosters on the official OUP/RES pages. ## When to trigger - The user asks "what should I do next?" on an EJ-targeted paper - A draft is handed over and the current bottleneck is unclear - Work is bouncing between modeling, empirics, and writing with no clear order - An EJ decision letter (reject / R&R) has arrived and the user needs to switch into response mode ## Routing table | Current symptom | Next skill | |-----------------|------------| | Idea is narrow / not clearly of broad interest to economists at large | `ecj-topic-selection` | | Lit review reads as a list; contribution not framed for a general audience | `ecj-literature-positioning` | | Empirics are OLS + controls; causal claim not defended | `ecj-identification` | | A reduced-form result has no model / mechanism behind it | `ecj-theory-model` | | Theory/structural model present but its discipline is unclear | `ecj-theory-model` | | Main result rests on a single specification | `ecj-robustness` | | Tables overloaded; figures not carrying the economic story | `ecj-tables-figures` | | Prose buries the idea; a generalist cannot follow the argument | `ecj-writing-style` | | Accepted/near-accept; need a DCAS package for the EJ Data Editor / Zenodo | `ecj-replication-package` | | Want to anticipate the breadth/identification objections a referee will raise | `ecj-referee-strategy` | | Ready to submit via Editorial Express; need a single-blind preflight | `ecj-submission` | | Received an R&R; need the response-letter strategy | `ecj-rebuttal` | ## Default order 1. `ecj-topic-selection` — lock a question of broad interest, and decide full-length vs. short paper 2. `ecj-literature-positioning` — situate the contribution for a general-interest readership 3. `ecj-identification` — make the causal/empirical claim credible 4. `ecj-theory-model` — the model or mechanism that gives the result its economic meaning 5. `ecj-robustness` — kill the alternative explanations a referee will float 6. `ecj-tables-figures` — finalize exhibits so each carries economic content 7. `ecj-writing-style` — make the idea land for a generalist (intro/abstract last) 8. `ecj-referee-strategy` — pre-mortem the report you expect, patch holes 9. `ecj-replication-package` — assemble data/code to DCAS standard for the EJ Data Editor 10. `ecj-submission` — Editorial Express preflight (single-blind, JEL, short-paper option) 11. `ecj-rebuttal` — after the R&R lands > `ecj-writing-style` is a **late polish** stage; do not rewrite the intro before identification and the model settle. At EJ, *exposition is part of the contribution* — budget real time for it, but after the substance is sound. ## Decision heuristics - "I have a clean causal effect but only specialists would care" → `ecj-topic-selection` (broaden the framing or rescope) - "My result is sharp and self-contained but short" → `ecj-topic-selection` then `ecj-submission` (consider the short-paper route) - "My intro cites everyone but never says what economics learns" → `ecj-literature-positioning` - "DID uses TWFE with staggered timing and I haven't addressed heterogeneity bias" → `ecj-identification` - "All my evidence is one regression" → `ecj-robustness` - "A non-specialist reader gets lost by page 3" → `ecj-writing-style` - "Submitting tomorrow" → `ecj-submission` - "Got referee reports" → `ecj-rebuttal` ## Question ladder Answer the questions in order; the **first "no"** routes you. Note the ladder never says "anonymize" — EJ review is single-blind and author identity is expected. ```text ecj-workflow question ladder (EJ, single-blind) Q1 breadth would an economist outside your field finish this paper? no → ecj-topic-selection Q1b length result sharp but compact? consider the short paper (<6,000 words, 5 exhibits, AER:Insights style) yes → flag for ecj-submission Q2 positioning does the intro say what economics at large learns, not just who wrote before? no → ecj-literature-positioning Q3 causal claim is the empirical claim defended beyond OLS + controls? no → ecj-identification Q4 mechanism is there a model or mechanism disciplining the reduced form? no → ecj-theory-model Q5 robustness does the result survive off a single specification? no → ecj-robustness Q6 exhibits does each table and figure carry the economic story on its own? no → ecj-tables-figures Q7 exposition can a generalist still follow the argument by page 3? no → ecj-writing-style Q8 pre-mortem have the expected referee objections been patched in the draft? no → ecj-referee-strategy Q9 package DCAS-standard replication set ready for the EJ Data Editor (Zenodo or another trusted repository)? no → ecj-replication-package ALL YES → Editorial Express preflight (JEL codes, paper type) → ecj-submission R&R arrives → ecj-rebuttal ``` ## Differences vs. JEEA / EER / top-5 stacks EJ is a leading general-interest journal just below the top-5, with a distinct taste: - **EJ**: the RES flagship, long history, breadth of relevance + clear exposition; theory and applied both core; an explicit short-paper option. A generalist must be able to read it. - **JEEA** (EEA): European general-interest flagship; comparably broad, sometimes more selective/methodological in tilt. - **EER**: European general-interest, often more field-specialized in practice; faster turnaround perception. - **Top-5 (AER/QJE/JPE/Econometrica/REStud)**: a notch higher on novelty/importance; EJ welcomes substantial, broadly interesting work that may not clear that bar but is excellent and general. If the paper is purely methodological/econometric, **The Econometrics Journal** (also RES) may fit better. If it is a narrow field contribution a generalist would skip, reconsider framing in `ecj-topic-selection` before targeting EJ. ## Anti-patterns - **Do not** target EJ with a narrow result no generalist would finish — breadth of interest is a stated bar - **Do not** waste effort anonymizing the manuscript — EJ review is **single-blind**, so author identity is expected - **Do not** let `ecj-tables-figures` polish exhibits while the identification is still contested - **Do not** let `ecj-rebuttal` draft a response letter before the manuscript itself has been revised - **Do not** defer reproducible code to post-accept; the EJ Data Editor verifies the package before final publication