brycewang-stanford Submission Preflight (ecta-submission)
When to trigger
- "Submitting tomorrow"; final check before clicking submit on Editorial Express
- Unsure how to split the body (≤45 pages) vs. the Supplemental Material
- Unsure which files and declarations the portal needs
Verify all volatile specifics — portal URL, submission fee, the current Data and Code Availability Policy, the editorial board, and formatting rules — on the official journal site before submitting. The figures below were current as of 2026-05-30 but change.
Econometrica specifics (verify; current as of 2026-05-30)
- Membership + fee: at least one author must be a member of the Econometric Society. Submission fee (from Jan 1, 2025): US$125 regular member, US$50 student member. Invited resubmissions and ES-journal transfers are fee-exempt.
- Length: main text ≤45 pages including references and appendices; font ≥12pt, line spacing ≥1.5, margins ≥1.25in. Supplemental Appendix ≤25 pages, same formatting; additional online Supplemental Material (proofs, Monte Carlo detail) is uploaded with the submission and does not count toward the limit.
- Front matter: abstract ≤150 words, keywords required, JEL codes optional.
- Portal: Editorial Express (editorialexpress.com,
dbase=econometrica). - Replication: governed by the Econometric Society Data and Code Availability Policy;
the Data Editor runs a reproducibility check at conditional acceptance; deposit at the
ES Journals' Community on Zenodo (see
ecta-replication-package). - Anonymization: UNVERIFIED. Economics convention is single-anonymous (referees know the author); confirm whether Econometrica currently requires a de-identified PDF before relying on it.
Pre-submission checklist
Manuscript assembly
- Main text states the contribution / informal main theorem early
- Main text fits ≤45 pages incl. references and appendices; font ≥12pt / spacing ≥1.5 / margins ≥1.25in
- Definitions and assumptions are numbered, displayed objects
- Theorems numbered consistently; cross-references by number
- Proof sketches in the body; full proofs in the Supplemental Material if long
- Supplemental Appendix ≤25 pages; further Supplemental Material carries full proofs, Monte Carlo detail, additional results
- Every number in the text matches the tables
- Abstract ≤150 words; keywords present; JEL codes (optional) included if used
Supplemental Material
- Full, complete proofs of every result not proven in full in the body
- Complete Monte Carlo design and any additional simulations
- Additional theorems / extensions referenced from the body
- Supplemental Appendix within ≤25 pages; further material in unrestricted Supplemental Material
- Self-contained and cross-referenced from the main text
Anonymization (verify — UNVERIFIED whether currently required)
- If a de-identified PDF is required: no author-identifying content in the body
- Self-citation phrased in the third person ("X (2020) shows"), not "our earlier work"
- Acknowledgments / funding removed from the anonymized manuscript
- File metadata scrubbed of author names
- Confirm the journal's current blinding policy on the Instructions/Editorial Procedures pages
References
- Every in-text citation appears in the reference list and vice versa
- Theorem-level results cited precisely (which theorem, not just the paper) where the proof relies on them
- Reference style matches the journal's current requirement
- Foundational and contemporaneous work cited fairly
Data and Code Availability Policy (Econometric Society)
- Replication package built and reproduces from a clean checkout (see
ecta-replication-package) - Monte Carlo / simulation tables reproduce bit-for-bit (seeds recorded) — simulations are in-scope
- Data provenance / access documented; restricted-data procedures handled
- README in PDF (Social Science Data Editors' template); Zenodo deposit planned (ES Journals' Community)
- If pure theory (no empirical/experimental/simulation results): exemption noted at initial submission
- Verified against the current ES Data Editor policy and deposit location
Fee and member status
- Submission fee handled (US$125 regular / US$50 student member, from 2025 — verify current amounts)
- At least one author is a current Econometric Society member
- Fee-exemption checked if an invited resubmission or ES-journal transfer
Editorial Express operation
- Submit via Editorial Express (editorialexpress.com,
dbase=econometrica; verify the current URL via the journal site). - Upload the main manuscript and the Supplemental Material as the portal specifies.
- Enter abstract (≤150 words), keywords, and JEL codes (optional) accurately.
- Provide qualified, conflict-free referee suggestions (see
ecta-referee-strategy). - Choose the correct classification / field for routing to an appropriate co-editor.
- At conditional acceptance, final files (and the replication package) go to a separate Editorial Express account for the Data Editor's reproducibility check.
Anti-patterns
- Submitting with proofs only in the body and the Supplemental Material not assembled
- A body over 45 pages (incl. references and appendices) with no prior editor exception
- Submitting without an Econometric Society member among the authors, or unpaid fee
- Asymptotics in, Monte Carlo left for "the revision" — often a fast rejection
- A replication package that does not actually reproduce (the Data Editor will run it)
- An off-the-shelf applied paper with no methodological contribution (eligibility desk-reject)
- Citing a survey where the proof depends on a specific theorem
- Trusting a stale fee / board / policy figure instead of verifying on the journal site
Output format
【Body ≤45pp + split】within limit + proofs split correctly: yes/no
【Supplemental Material assembled】yes/no — missing: [...]
【Anonymization】pass / fix / N/A (verify if required): [...]
【References】in/out consistent: yes/no
【ES Data & Code Policy】reproduces + Zenodo plan / theory-exempt: yes/no
【Fee + ES membership】handled: yes/no (US$125/US$50 — verify)
【Next step】await decision / R&R / conditional acceptance → ecta-rebuttal
Related resources
templates/checklist.md— full pre-submission self-check (manuscript, appendix, anonymization, proofs, simulations, references, replication, portal)templates/manuscript_template.md— standard theory/methods manuscript skeleton (assumptions, theorems, proof sketches, Supplemental Material)../../resources/external_tools.md— typesetting, symbolic/computation, and reproducibility toolchain