brycewang-stanford Submission Preflight (rje-submission)
When to trigger
- "Submitting tomorrow" — last check before pressing submit on Wiley Research Exchange
- Unsure which files and limits RJE expects at initial submission
- Confirming page caps, the 100-word abstract, and author-date style are RJE-compliant
Process facts (verified 2026-06-01; re-confirm on rje.org)
- RJE is owned/sponsored by the RAND Corporation and published with Wiley (formerly the Bell Journal of Economics). Submit through Wiley's Research Exchange at
https://wiley.atyponrex.com/journal/RAND— mandatory since April 23, 2025, replacing the former Editorial Express / e-submit system. Source: rje.org/submissions.html. - Hard page caps, enforced at submission: main text <=40 pages (exclusive of appendices and references); appendices + references <=10 pages; total <=50 pages. Manuscripts must be double-spaced; footnotes kept to ~50 words / 3 typeset lines. Most general-econ journals use word counts — RJE does not.
- Abstract <=100 words.
- Files in Word or LaTeX.
- A per-article submission fee of US$200 applies (rje.org / Wiley "For Authors" guidelines; re-verified 2026-06-22); as of January 1, 2026 this fee is explicitly non-refundable (rje.org). Re-confirm the exact amount and payment method in the live submission portal before paying — the figure can change.
- Supporting information is discouraged "as a general rule," is posted online without editing/typesetting, may be assessed critically by reviewers, and may be declined.
Preflight checklist
Page caps & format
- Main text <=40 pp, double-spaced (excl. appendices/references)
- Appendices + references <=10 pp; total <=50 pp
- Abstract <=100 words
- Footnotes short (~50 words / 3 typeset lines each)
- File is Word or LaTeX; sections numbered, subsections unnumbered; equations flush right with (1a)/(1b)
Style (RJE Style Guide)
- Author-date in-text cites, no page numbers (e.g., "Jones, 1991")
- References alphabetical, unnumbered, no issue numbers
- House usage applied (because/as not since; whereas/although not while; "article" not "paper")
Files for Research Exchange
- Manuscript (Word/LaTeX) within caps
- Cover letter (tight IO pitch: question, market, method, headline result)
- Suggested referees prepared (IO experts, conflict-free)
- Supporting information kept minimal (discouraged) — justify anything included
Declarations & fee
- Submission fee ready (US$200, re-verified 2026-06-22 — re-confirm in the portal); understand it is non-refundable (as of 2026-01-01)
- Conflict-of-interest / funding disclosures prepared
- Confirmed not under review elsewhere
Page-budget allocation table (fit the IO content inside 50 pages)
Structural IO articles run exhibit-heavy; sketch the page budget before finalizing exhibits.
| Component | Typical share of main text | Triage rule |
|---|---|---|
| Intro + IO contribution | 4-6 pp | Lead; contribution legible by page 2 |
| Model / identification | 8-12 pp | Keep derivations terse; long algebra to appendix |
| Data + institutional setting | 4-6 pp | Enough to ground the market; tables compact |
| Estimates + key exhibits | 8-10 pp | Headline params, one elasticity/markup, one counterfactual |
| Robustness in main text | 2-4 pp | One decisive check only; battery to appendix |
| Appendix + references | ≤10 pp | Full robustness, derivations, extra tables |
Worked vignette: a last-night preflight
Suppose a structural demand-and-merger article sits at 43 main-text pages the night before submission — over the 40-page cap. Triage, do not delete:
- Move the full random-coefficient table and two alternative-specification tables to the appendix; keep headline estimates and one elasticity matrix in the body.
- Push the demand-derivation algebra and marginal-cost recovery to the appendix; leave the estimating equations and conduct assumption in the body.
- Compress institutional background by citing prior market descriptions instead of re-narrating them.
- Re-check: main text 39 pp, appendix + references 9 pp, total 48 pp; abstract 96 words; the submission fee ready and non-refundable.
Referee and editor friction to pre-empt at submission
- A screening Editor cannot skim an over-length file. Fix: enter the screen at or under 40/50 pp with the IO hook on page 1.
- Off-style citations read as careless. Fix: confirm author-date with no page numbers and references with no issue numbers before upload.
- Supporting information may be declined. Fix: keep decisive results in the article and appendix; justify anything attached and confirm hosting against the journal's current author guidelines.
- Fee specifics drift. Fix: re-confirm the exact fee amount and refund terms on the current Wiley "For Authors" page before paying.
Anti-patterns
- Blowing the 40-page main-text cap and assuming "they count words" — they count pages
- A 250-word abstract for a 100-word limit
- Numbered or footnote-style citations, or page numbers in in-text cites
- Loading up supporting information the journal discourages and may decline
- Budgeting for a refund of the submission fee — it is non-refundable
Output format
【Page caps】main <=40 / total <=50, double-spaced? [Y/N]
【Abstract】<=100 words? [Y/N]
【Style】author-date, no page/issue numbers, house usage? [Y/N]
【Files】Word/LaTeX + cover letter + referees? [Y/N each]
【Fee】submission fee ready (amount per portal), understood non-refundable? [Y/N]
【Portal】Wiley Research Exchange (atyponrex)? [Y/N]
【Next step】await editor screen → rje-review-process / rje-rebuttal