Get your Economic Policy paper right the first time: a ready-made structure with the right abstract and citations, so editors see your science, not formatting slips.
4.3
Authored by Sumalatha Gangadhar | Published on 10 August, 2026
Submitting to Economic Policy goes smoothly when your draft already matches the journal's own rules. Editors screen new manuscripts against the Economic Policy 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 template sets that structure up for you.
It is a manuscript shell aligned to Economic Policy. 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 Economic Policy journal page before you draft.
Prepare the title, authors, affiliations, and ORCID iDs. 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 Economic Policy 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 Economic Policy 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 the journal (invitation-only).
| Element | Econ Policy requirement |
|---|---|
| Abstract | Abstracts required, approximately 200 words. Must be written in English. No specific requirement stated regarding structured vs. unstructured format. Abstracts must be able to stand alone; should avoid references unless essential (if included, cite author(s) and year(s)); should avoid non-standard or uncommon abbreviations unless essential (if included, must be defined at first mention) |
| Main text | Approximately 35 printed pages at 460 words per page with appropriate space for figures and tables (approximately 16,100 words total). Papers edited down to this length by Managing Editors if submitted drafts are too long. Should include introduction, stylized facts section, theoretical analysis with real-world examples, empirical evidence, and policy implications section |
| Declarations | Ethics approval/consent as applicable; competing interests; funding; data availability |
| Figures/tables | Publication-ready; cited in order |
| Supplemental | Upload separately when used |
| Keywords | Not specified in the official author guidelines |
| References | Alphabetical listing. Format: Author(s) (year). 'Title', Journal name, issue number, month, page numbers. For books: include publisher name and town. Working paper numbers should be given. Complete citations required. No specific named style (e.g., Vancouver, APA) mandated; custom Economic Policy format used |
| Peer review | Non-anonymized peer review (also known as open peer review), meaning the identities of authors and reviewers are known by each other and the editors. Papers are evaluated by the Editorial Board and external referees, then presented at biannual conferences where two invited discussants provide detailed comments from academic and policy perspectives |
| Submission | Invitation-only / commissioned; details provided to invited authors |
Read the Economic Policy 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 Economic Policy in under a page.
Skim two or three recent Econ Policy 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 Economic Policy journal page requires it. Disclose any preprint or conference version with identifiers in the cover letter.
Do one focused pass against the Economic Policy guide for authors: scope, length, reference style, required declarations, and figure quality. Then submit through the journal (invitation-only).