# Jde Review Process > Use when choosing a submission route or understanding how peer review works at the Journal of Development Economics (JDE) — the full-length, AER-Insights-style short-paper, and pre-results review (Registered Reports) tracks, single-anonymized review, timelines, and the submission cap. Explains the pipeline; it is not the final preflight. - Skill: `thedixitjain/jde-review-process` (Agent Skill) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds add thedixitjain/jde-review-process` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/thedixitjain/jde-review-process/raw - Safety review: pending - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: DevOps & Infra - Author: thedixitjain (https://skillmd.com/u/thedixitjain) - Updated: 2026-09-08 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/thedixitjain/jde-review-process --- # Review Process (jde-review-process) ## When to trigger - You are deciding among the full-length, short-paper, and pre-results review routes - You need realistic expectations about JDE review and timelines - You have a prospective design and want it reviewed before results exist - You want to confirm you are within the submission cap ## How JDE review works JDE is the **leading field journal in development economics** (Elsevier), edited by Editors-in-Chief **A. Foster** and **K. Macours**, with **Dean Karlan** among the Co-Editors. Review is **single-anonymized** — referees know the author's identity; the author does not know the referees. It is highly selective: ~**1,300 submissions a year**, only about **a quarter sent for review**, and roughly **6-8% published**. Submission is via **Editorial Manager**. There is a **USD 50 non-refundable submission fee** for original manuscripts. Open access is optional; the current APC is **USD 4,760** excluding taxes. **Submission cap:** under normal circumstances an author may **not submit more than three papers within any 12-month period**. Plan submissions accordingly. ## The three routes ### Full-length (standard) The default track. No fixed length limit; an extensive online appendix is expected. Full single-anonymized review with multiple referees and R&R rounds. ### Short-paper (limited-revision) track Modeled on **AER: Insights**: at most **6,000 words**, at most **5 exhibits** (tables or figures), and an online appendix of at most **20 pages** (the manuscript must be self-contained). Refereed decisions generally occur within **6-8 weeks** and use a limited-revision structure. Best for a sharp, self-contained result that does not need a long treatment. ### Pre-results review (Registered Reports) A **permanent** track (piloted 2018-2019 with **BITSS**) for prospective empirical projects. You submit a **Stage 1 proposal** — background/motivation, hypotheses, study procedures, a statistical analysis plan, a **power analysis**, and pilot data if applicable, with a cover page carrying JEL codes and ethics/funding/conflict disclosures. The Stage 1 proposal **must not exceed 60 pages** and its **abstract is capped at 150 words**. If accepted **in principle before results are known**, you implement the study and submit the **Stage 2** manuscript. Published pre-results papers look like any other JDE article except for a footnote noting pre-results submission and the inclusion of the pre-specified plan in the supplementary online appendix. This route reduces publication bias and is well suited to RCTs and other prospective designs. ## Choosing a route - Sharp single result, self-contained → **short-paper** track - Prospective design, want the plan locked and de-risked → **pre-results review** - Rich result needing full treatment, theory, or extensive empirics → **full-length** ## Route-choice decision table | Your situation | Route | Why | |-----------------------------------------------------------------|----------------|----------------------------------------------------------| | RCT not yet run; want the design locked and bias-proofed | Pre-results | Stage 1 accepted in principle before results exist | | One sharp result, ≤ 6,000 words, ≤ 5 exhibits, self-contained | Short-paper | Fast (~6–8 wk), limited revision, editor decides | | Rich design + theory + extensive heterogeneity and robustness | Full-length | No length cap; extensive online appendix expected | | Quasi-experiment already estimated, needs full empirical defense | Full-length | Multiple referees, multiple R&R rounds | ## Worked routing example (illustrative) Hypothetical: a team has designed but not yet fielded a cluster-randomized cash-transfer trial in a low-income setting and wants to de-risk it. - **Right call:** Stage 1 pre-results submission — background, hypotheses, procedures, a statistical analysis plan, and a **power analysis** at the cluster level (e.g., 90 clusters powered to detect a 0.15 SD consumption effect, *illustrative*). If accepted in principle, results cannot sink the paper for being null. - **Wrong call:** running the trial first, finding a null, then trying pre-results — that track is *prospective only*. ## Calibration anchors (hedged) - Selectivity is high: ~1,300 submissions/year, about a quarter sent for review, ~6-8% published. - Short-paper refereed decisions generally land in **6-8 weeks**; the full-length pipeline runs months across rounds — plan the **three-per-12-months** cap around it. - The development-policy-relevance bar is real: a technically clean paper with no first-order LMIC stake is a routine non-starter regardless of route. ## Anti-patterns - Submitting a sprawling paper to the short-paper track (it caps words and exhibits) - Treating pre-results review as a place to submit after you already have results - Exceeding three submissions in a 12-month window - Assuming double-blind anonymization — JDE review is single-anonymized ## Output format ``` 【Route】full-length / short-paper / pre-results review 【Why this route】... 【Within 3-per-12-months cap?】[Y/N] 【Route-specific limits met】words/exhibits/pages as applicable 【Next step】jde-submission ``` --- **Source:** [`brycewang-stanford/Awesome-Journal-Skills`](https://github.com/brycewang-stanford/Awesome-Journal-Skills) → `Journal-of-Development-Economics-Skills/skills/jde-review-process/SKILL.md`