JLEO Workflow Router (jleo-workflow)
Overview
This is the router. It tells you which jleo- skill to use at the current stage* of a manuscript aimed at The Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization (JLEO) — the Oxford University Press journal founded in 1985 by Oliver E. Williamson and Jerry L. Mashaw at Yale, and the flagship outlet of the law-economics-organization tradition: transaction-cost economics, the theory of the firm, contracts and governance, and positive political economy (courts, legislatures, bureaucracies, federalism as institutions in the North–Weingast–Williamson line). It publishes both formal-theoretical and empirical work, triannually; Andrea Prat is Editor-in-Chief (检索于 2026-06;以官网为准).
Default assumption: unless the user says otherwise, treat the target as JLEO. Operational tells that you are at JLEO and not a sibling: the paper's payoff is an institutional or organizational claim, not a price-theory or pure-doctrine one; the question is "how does this governance structure / institution / political mechanism work and why does it take the form it does," and the contribution speaks to the new-institutional / PPE community. Submission is via the Editorial Express portal (editorialexpress.com/jleo); OUP is the publisher; the journal is COPE-compliant. Re-verify volatile specifics (editor, fees, exact limits, blinding) on the official OUP pages.
When to trigger
- The user asks "what should I do next?" on a JLEO-bound manuscript
- A draft needs its current bottleneck diagnosed against the law-economics-organization bar
- Work is ping-ponging between framing, theory/model, identification, exhibits, and the response letter
- A JLEO decision letter arrived and the user needs to switch into revision mode
- The team is unsure whether the paper belongs at JLEO versus JLE, JLS, ALER, QJPS, or Organization Science
Routing table
| Current symptom |
Next skill |
| Scope/fit uncertain; might be price-theory L&E or pure org-theory |
jleo-topic-selection |
| Contribution vs. the institutional/PPE frontier is fuzzy or undersold |
jleo-literature-positioning |
| Causal credibility (reform, court/committee assignment, institutional variation) is shaky |
jleo-identification |
| The institutional/organizational model or mechanism is loose or decorative |
jleo-theory-model |
| Results may be specification-, sample-, or inference-sensitive |
jleo-robustness |
| Exhibits are dense or do not answer the institutional question |
jleo-tables-figures |
| Prose buries the institutional logic; intro/abstract do not land |
jleo-writing-style |
| Data, code, or institutional-source documentation needs packaging |
jleo-replication-package |
| Likely referee objections should be anticipated before submitting |
jleo-referee-strategy |
| Ready to submit via Editorial Express; need a preflight |
jleo-submission |
| A decision letter or referee report needs a response plan |
jleo-rebuttal |
Default order
jleo-topic-selection — lock a law-economics-organization question, not a sibling's
jleo-literature-positioning — stake the contribution vs. the institutional/PPE frontier
jleo-identification — institutional/organizational causal design where the paper is empirical
jleo-theory-model — the transaction-cost / agency / political-agency model that gives the claim teeth
jleo-robustness — threat-organized checks, not a mechanical appendix
jleo-tables-figures — exhibits that show the institutional comparison cleanly
jleo-writing-style — make the institutional logic land (intro + abstract last)
jleo-replication-package — institutional/organizational/political data paths and code
jleo-referee-strategy — anticipate the institutional-economist referee
jleo-submission — Editorial Express preflight
jleo-rebuttal — after the decision letter
jleo-writing-style is a late-stage polish; do not rewrite the intro before the model and identification settle. Theory and empirics co-evolve at JLEO — jleo-theory-model and jleo-identification often loop.
Routing by paper archetype
JLEO accepts several shapes, and the binding constraint differs by shape. Read the archetype, then enter the chain at the right link.
| Archetype |
Likely first bottleneck |
Enter at |
| positive political economy model (legislature/court/bureaucracy) |
comparative statics + an empirical or institutional test |
jleo-theory-model → jleo-identification |
| transaction-cost / make-or-buy / governance-choice empirics |
selection into governance form; endogenous boundaries |
jleo-identification |
| contracts & theory of the firm (formal) |
a sharp, novel mechanism vs. the canon |
jleo-theory-model |
| institutions & reform (causal) |
reform/assignment as a credible design, not OLS+controls |
jleo-identification |
| organizational governance / personnel inside firms |
mechanism + measurement of the organizational object |
jleo-topic-selection → jleo-theory-model |
Sibling boundaries (why JLEO and not its neighbors)
- vs. Journal of Law and Economics (JLE, Chicago): JLE is price-theory law-and-economics — antitrust, regulation, crime, empirical effects of legal rules on markets. JLEO adds organization: governance structures, the firm, and the political institutions that make and enforce rules. If the payoff is a market effect of a rule, lean JLE; if it is why the institution/organization takes this form, lean JLEO.
- vs. Journal of Legal Studies (JLS): JLS is broader law-and-economics with more doctrinal/legal-theory range; JLEO is tighter on institutions, organization, and PPE.
- vs. Quarterly Journal of Political Science (QJPS) / American Political Science Review: those are political-science homes for PPE; JLEO welcomes PPE but frames it as institutional economics with formal or empirical economics standards.
- vs. American Law and Economics Review (ALER): ALER is the AALEA's broad L&E outlet; JLEO is more organization- and governance-centric.
- vs. Organization Science: Org Science is management/org-theory (behavioral, sociological); JLEO is economics of organization (transaction costs, agency, formal incentives).
Anti-patterns
- Treating JLEO as interchangeable with JLE (price-theory) or Organization Science (org-theory)
- Submitting a pure reduced-form market study with no institutional/organizational object as the payoff
- Polishing prose before the model and identification are stable
- Letting an appendix carry the institutional claim the main text must establish
- Quoting volatile process facts (editor, fee, blinding) as permanent instead of marking 待核实
Output format
【Target】The Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization (JLEO)
【Archetype】PPE model / TCE governance empirics / contracts-theory / institutions-causal / org-governance
【Current bottleneck】fit / contribution / identification / model / robustness / exhibits / style / submission / revision
【Next skill】<one jleo-* skill>
【Reason】why this is the binding constraint for an institutional/organizational claim
【Source check】official facts verified or marked 待核实
1---2name: jleo-workflow3description: Use when deciding which jleo-* sub-skill to invoke next, or when sequencing manuscript work from topic selection through rebuttal for a Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization (JLEO) submission. Routes — it does not replace — the specialized skills.4---56# JLEO Workflow Router (jleo-workflow)78## Overview910This is the router. It tells you **which jleo-* skill to use at the current stage** of a manuscript aimed at *The Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization* (JLEO) — the **Oxford University Press** journal founded in **1985 by Oliver E. Williamson and Jerry L. Mashaw** at Yale, and the flagship outlet of the law-economics-**organization** tradition: transaction-cost economics, the theory of the firm, contracts and governance, and **positive political economy** (courts, legislatures, bureaucracies, federalism as institutions in the North–Weingast–Williamson line). It publishes both **formal-theoretical** and **empirical** work, triannually; Andrea Prat is Editor-in-Chief (检索于 2026-06;以官网为准).1112Default assumption: unless the user says otherwise, treat the target as JLEO. Operational tells that you are at JLEO and not a sibling: the paper's payoff is an **institutional or organizational** claim, not a price-theory or pure-doctrine one; the question is "how does this governance structure / institution / political mechanism work and why does it take the form it does," and the contribution speaks to the **new-institutional / PPE** community. Submission is via the **Editorial Express** portal (editorialexpress.com/jleo); OUP is the publisher; the journal is COPE-compliant. Re-verify volatile specifics (editor, fees, exact limits, blinding) on the official OUP pages.1314## When to trigger1516- The user asks "what should I do next?" on a JLEO-bound manuscript17- A draft needs its current bottleneck diagnosed against the law-economics-organization bar18- Work is ping-ponging between framing, theory/model, identification, exhibits, and the response letter19- A JLEO decision letter arrived and the user needs to switch into revision mode20- The team is unsure whether the paper belongs at JLEO versus JLE, JLS, ALER, QJPS, or Organization Science2122## Routing table2324| Current symptom | Next skill |25|-----------------|------------|26| Scope/fit uncertain; might be price-theory L&E or pure org-theory | `jleo-topic-selection` |27| Contribution vs. the institutional/PPE frontier is fuzzy or undersold | `jleo-literature-positioning` |28| Causal credibility (reform, court/committee assignment, institutional variation) is shaky | `jleo-identification` |29| The institutional/organizational model or mechanism is loose or decorative | `jleo-theory-model` |30| Results may be specification-, sample-, or inference-sensitive | `jleo-robustness` |31| Exhibits are dense or do not answer the institutional question | `jleo-tables-figures` |32| Prose buries the institutional logic; intro/abstract do not land | `jleo-writing-style` |33| Data, code, or institutional-source documentation needs packaging | `jleo-replication-package` |34| Likely referee objections should be anticipated before submitting | `jleo-referee-strategy` |35| Ready to submit via Editorial Express; need a preflight | `jleo-submission` |36| A decision letter or referee report needs a response plan | `jleo-rebuttal` |3738## Default order39401. `jleo-topic-selection` — lock a law-economics-**organization** question, not a sibling's412. `jleo-literature-positioning` — stake the contribution vs. the institutional/PPE frontier423. `jleo-identification` — institutional/organizational causal design where the paper is empirical434. `jleo-theory-model` — the transaction-cost / agency / political-agency model that gives the claim teeth445. `jleo-robustness` — threat-organized checks, not a mechanical appendix456. `jleo-tables-figures` — exhibits that show the institutional comparison cleanly467. `jleo-writing-style` — make the institutional logic land (intro + abstract last)478. `jleo-replication-package` — institutional/organizational/political data paths and code489. `jleo-referee-strategy` — anticipate the institutional-economist referee4910. `jleo-submission` — Editorial Express preflight5011. `jleo-rebuttal` — after the decision letter5152> `jleo-writing-style` is a late-stage polish; do not rewrite the intro before the model and identification settle. Theory and empirics co-evolve at JLEO — `jleo-theory-model` and `jleo-identification` often loop.5354## Routing by paper archetype5556JLEO accepts several shapes, and the binding constraint differs by shape. Read the archetype, then enter the chain at the right link.5758| Archetype | Likely first bottleneck | Enter at |59|-----------|-------------------------|----------|60| positive political economy model (legislature/court/bureaucracy) | comparative statics + an empirical or institutional test | `jleo-theory-model` → `jleo-identification` |61| transaction-cost / make-or-buy / governance-choice empirics | selection into governance form; endogenous boundaries | `jleo-identification` |62| contracts & theory of the firm (formal) | a sharp, novel mechanism vs. the canon | `jleo-theory-model` |63| institutions & reform (causal) | reform/assignment as a credible design, not OLS+controls | `jleo-identification` |64| organizational governance / personnel inside firms | mechanism + measurement of the organizational object | `jleo-topic-selection` → `jleo-theory-model` |6566## Sibling boundaries (why JLEO and not its neighbors)6768- **vs. Journal of Law and Economics (JLE, Chicago):** JLE is price-theory law-and-economics — antitrust, regulation, crime, empirical effects of legal rules on markets. JLEO adds **organization**: governance structures, the firm, and the political institutions that make and enforce rules. If the payoff is a market effect of a rule, lean JLE; if it is *why the institution/organization takes this form*, lean JLEO.69- **vs. Journal of Legal Studies (JLS):** JLS is broader law-and-economics with more doctrinal/legal-theory range; JLEO is tighter on institutions, organization, and PPE.70- **vs. Quarterly Journal of Political Science (QJPS) / American Political Science Review:** those are political-science homes for PPE; JLEO welcomes PPE but frames it as institutional **economics** with formal or empirical economics standards.71- **vs. American Law and Economics Review (ALER):** ALER is the AALEA's broad L&E outlet; JLEO is more organization- and governance-centric.72- **vs. Organization Science:** Org Science is management/org-theory (behavioral, sociological); JLEO is economics of organization (transaction costs, agency, formal incentives).7374## Anti-patterns7576- Treating JLEO as interchangeable with JLE (price-theory) or Organization Science (org-theory)77- Submitting a pure reduced-form market study with no institutional/organizational object as the payoff78- Polishing prose before the model and identification are stable79- Letting an appendix carry the institutional claim the main text must establish80- Quoting volatile process facts (editor, fee, blinding) as permanent instead of marking 待核实8182## Output format8384```text85【Target】The Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization (JLEO)86【Archetype】PPE model / TCE governance empirics / contracts-theory / institutions-causal / org-governance87【Current bottleneck】fit / contribution / identification / model / robustness / exhibits / style / submission / revision88【Next skill】<one jleo-* skill>89【Reason】why this is the binding constraint for an institutional/organizational claim90【Source check】official facts verified or marked 待核实91```