Get your Ecological Economics paper right the first time: a ready-made structure with the right abstract and citations, so editors see your science, not formatting slips.
4.5
Authored by Sumalatha Gangadhar | Published on 25 July, 2026
Submitting to Ecological Economics goes smoothly when your draft already matches the journal's own rules. Editors screen new manuscripts against the Ecological Economics guide for authors before peer review, so formatting, structure, and required statements should be right on the first draft rather than repaired during upload. This journal specifically expects a Highlights list, a graphical abstract, CRediT author-contribution statements, a data availability statement; build these in from the start. This template sets that structure up for you.
It is a manuscript shell aligned to Ecological Economics. It covers front matter, the abstract the journal expects, a body organized to the journal's article types, and a reference list in the journal's required style. Confirm current scope and article types on the Ecological Economics journal page before you draft.
Prepare the title, authors, affiliations, and ORCID iDs. Keep the abstract within about 250 words. Write the abstract to the journal's rule and word limit, organize the body to the article type, and apply the required reference style from the first citation. Complete every declaration (ethics, competing interests, funding, data availability) the Ecological Economics guide for authors lists, and cite figures and tables in order.
The common failure modes are formatting or reference style that does not match the guide for authors, missing required statements, and an incomplete portal checklist. Clear all three against the Ecological Economics guide for authors before you submit.
The shell mirrors what editorial staff check first: article-type fit, the abstract rules, required declarations, and the journal's reference style. For more detail see the author resources. When your draft is ready, upload it through Editorial Manager.
| Element | EE requirement |
|---|---|
| Abstract | Unstructured abstract required, maximum 250 words. Must be concise and factual, briefly stating the purpose of research, principal results and major conclusions. Must be able to stand alone. Avoid references (if essential, cite author(s) and year(s)). Avoid non-standard or uncommon abbreviations (if essential, define at first mention). |
| Main text | Section order and length per article type |
| Declarations | Ethics, competing interests, funding, data as required |
| Figures/tables | Publication-ready; cited in order |
| Supplemental | Upload separately when used |
| Keywords | Required: 1 to 7 keywords for indexing purposes. Keywords should be written in English. Authors should try to avoid keywords consisting of multiple words (using 'and' or 'of'). Abbreviations should only be used in keywords if firmly established in the field. |
| References | Author-date citation style (Harvard-like). In-text: single author = surname + year; two authors = both surnames + year; three or more = first author 'et al.' + year. Reference list arranged alphabetically, then chronologically if necessary. Same author(s) in same year identified by a, b, c letters. Journal names abbreviated according to LTWA. At submission, references can be in any consistent style; journal reference style applied at proof stage after acceptance. |
| Peer review | Single-blind / single-anonymized review. Submission initially assessed by editors to determine suitability; if deemed suitable, sent to minimum of two reviewers for independent expert assessment of scientific quality. Editors make acceptance/rejection decision. Editors recuse themselves from papers they authored, co-authored with family/colleagues, or have conflicts of interest with. |
| Submission | editorialmanager.com |
Read the Ecological Economics guide for authors once before drafting and once before upload. Draft the abstract after results are stable. Set the reference style before adding citations. Keep a cover letter that states your contribution and fit to Ecological Economics in under a page.
Skim two or three recent EE papers to calibrate depth and figure style. Make the novelty clear in the first two pages. Deposit data and code when the policy on the Ecological Economics journal page requires it. Disclose any preprint or conference version with identifiers in the cover letter.
Do one focused pass against the Ecological Economics guide for authors: scope, length, reference style, required declarations, and figure quality. Then submit through Editorial Manager.