Jle Submission

Submission Preflight (jle-submission)

When to trigger

• "Submitting tomorrow" — last check before pressing submit on JLE's Editorial Manager site
• Unsure which files, fee, and declarations the JLE submission expects
• Confirming the single-blind front matter (title page with author names) is right — not anonymized
• Confirming the paper is replication-policy-ready should it advance

Process facts (检索于 2026-06-22；以官网为准 — re-confirm on journals.uchicago.edu/journals/jle)

• JLE is published by the University of Chicago Press in association with the University of Chicago Law School; it is the founding journal of law and economics (since 1958). Submission is through the JLE Editorial Manager site.
• Single-blind review: authors' identities are visible to referees; referees are anonymous. Do not anonymize the manuscript. Include a title page with each author's name and contact information.
• Submission fee: US$100, required for all manuscripts beginning May 1, 2026; editorial review does not proceed until the fee is paid; the fee is non-refundable (re-verified 2026-06-22, ≥2 sources; 以官网为准).
• Editors (re-verified 2026-06-22): Elliott Ash, Matthew Backus, Dennis W. Carlton, Dhammika Dharmapala, Thomas J. Miles, Sam Peltzman (re-verify the masthead before submission).
• Citation style: Chicago author-date (University of Chicago Press house style).
• Data & replication: the JLE data policy requires data, programs, and computation details available for replication before publication; you need not deposit at submission, but the paper must be buildable into a replication package (jle-replication-package).
• Length / abstract limits, exact format specifics: 待核实 — confirm current limits on the instructions-for-authors page before submitting.

Preflight checklist

Front matter (single-blind)

• Title page with every author's name, affiliation, and contact — manuscript not anonymized
• Abstract and keywords per the instructions page (exact abstract limit 待核实)
• JEL codes if requested; acknowledgments and funding included

Format & style

• Chicago author-date citations and reference list, consistent throughout
• Tables and figures legible with standard errors and clustering level reported; notes self-contained
• Appendix / online appendix prepared and separated from the main paper
• Manuscript length within the journal's current limit (待核实); pages numbered

Files, fee & policy readiness

• Manuscript and exhibits uploaded as the Editorial Manager site requires
• US$100 submission fee ready to pay (non-refundable; review will not start until paid)
• Replication package buildable; data-availability statement drafted
• Restricted/sealed legal data: access path documented; synthetic extract planned

Declarations

• Disclosure of funding and interested-party relationships
• Confirmed not under review elsewhere; AI not listed as an author

What JLE does NOT require (so you don't import a sibling's rules)

Authors coming from AEA or Econometric Society journals often over-prepare in the wrong direction. At JLE:

• No manuscript anonymization. Unlike AEJ (double-blind) or QE, JLE is single-blind — leave your name on the title page.
• No society-membership gate. Unlike Quantitative Economics (Econometric Society membership) you need not be a member to submit.
• No openICPSR pre-acceptance pipeline. Unlike AEA journals, JLE does not run a Data-Editor reproducibility verification through openICPSR; its requirement is documentation and availability for replication before publication — important, but a different process.
• No CC-BY open-access mandate by default. JLE is a subscription journal with an optional open-access route; do not assume an APC unless you opt in (检索于 2026-06；以官网为准).

Confirm each against the current instructions page rather than carrying a habit from another journal.

Anti-patterns

• Anonymizing the manuscript — JLE is single-blind; the title page must carry author names
• Submitting before paying the US$100 fee (editorial review will not begin)
• Assuming the fee is refundable, or assuming exact length/abstract limits from memory instead of re-confirming (待核实)
• Non-Chicago citation style, or exhibits missing standard errors / clustering level
• Treating the replication policy as irrelevant at submission, then scrambling before publication

Worked vignette (illustrative)

An author about to submit a tort-reform paper runs the preflight and catches three things a JLE desk would flag. First, the manuscript had been anonymized out of habit — wrong for single-blind JLE; the author restores the title page with names and contact. Second, references were in a numbered style; the author converts to Chicago author-date. Third, the US$100 fee (effective May 1, 2026) was not budgeted; the author confirms payment is ready, since editorial review will not begin until it is paid. The replication package is buildable and the data-availability statement drafted. The exact abstract word limit was not visible on the cached instructions page, so the author marks it 待核实 and re-checks the live page before pressing submit.

Output format

【Front matter】title page named (NOT anonymized) + abstract/keywords? [Y/N]
【Style】Chicago author-date; SEs + clustering in exhibits? [Y/N]
【Length/abstract limits】confirmed on instructions page? [Y/N — else 待核实]
【Fee】US$100 ready to pay (non-refundable)? [Y/N]
【Replication readiness】package buildable + DAS drafted? [Y/N]
【Declarations】disclosure done; not under review elsewhere; no AI author? [Y/N]
【Next step】submit via Editorial Manager → jle-rebuttal after the decision

Last-mile sanity pass

Right before pressing submit, confirm the four items most likely to trigger an avoidable delay: the title page is present and names every author (single-blind), the US$100 fee is queued (review will not start otherwise), the references are in Chicago author-date, and every exhibit reports SEs with the clustering level. Then re-open the live instructions page once more to re-verify anything marked 待核实 — limits and fee mechanics are the volatile fields.

Supplementary resources

• templates/checklist.md — pre-submission self-check
• templates/manuscript_template.md — lightweight manuscript scaffold
• ../../resources/official-source-map.md — official UChicago Press / JLE URLs behind every fact