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Information for Authors

Submission of Papers

The World Bank Economic Review is a professional journal for the dissemination of World Bank-sponsored and other research that may inform policy analysis and choice in developing countries. It is directed to an international readership among economists and social scientists in government, business, international agencies, universities, and development research institutions. The Review emphasizes policy relevance and operational aspects of economics, rather than primarily theoretical and methodological issues. It is intended for readers familiar with economic theory and analysis but not necessarily proficient in advanced mathematical or econometric techniques. Articles illustrate how professional research can shed light on policy choices. Consistency with World Bank policy plays no role in the selection of articles.

Articles are drawn from work conducted by World Bank staff and consultants and by outside researchers. Non-Bank contributors are encouraged to submit their work.

Authors may, if they wish, first submit a proposal of no more than two pages to the Editor for advice on a planned paper’s suitability.

Comments or brief notes responding to Review articles are welcome and will be considered for publication.

Submission of an article will be taken to imply that it is original research by the author and that it is not under consideration for publication in any other outlet or form.

Reviewing process: All articles are reviewed by three referees: one from the World Bank and two from outside the institution. After the reviewing process, articles must also be endorsed by two members of the Editorial Board before final acceptance for publication.

Please direct all editorial correspondence, including submissions, to the Editor.

LENGTH OF SUBMISSIONS

Submissions should not exceed 7,000–8,000 words generally, including references and notes, and should contain no more than half a dozen figures and tables combined. Authors are requested to indicate the word count with their submissions.

FUNDING

Details of all funding sources for the work in question should be given in a separate section entitled 'Funding'. This should appear before the 'Acknowledgements' section.

The following rules should be followed:

  • The sentence should begin: ‘This work was supported by …’
  • The full official funding agency name should be given, i.e. ‘National Institutes of Health’, not ‘NIH’ (full RIN-approved list of UK funding agencies) Grant numbers should be given in brackets as follows: ‘[grant number xxxx]’
  • Multiple grant numbers should be separated by a comma as follows: ‘[grant numbers xxxx, yyyy]’
  • Agencies should be separated by a semi-colon (plus ‘and’ before the last funding agency)
  • Where individuals need to be specified for certain sources of funding the following text should be added after the relevant agency or grant number 'to [author initials]'.

An example is given here: ‘This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health [AA123456 to C.S., BB765432 to M.H.]; and the Alcohol & Education Research Council [hfygr667789].

LANGUAGE EDITING

Particularly if English is not your first language, before submitting your manuscript you may wish to have it edited for language. This is not a mandatory step, but may help to ensure that the academic content of your paper is fully understood by journal editors and reviewers. Language editing does not guarantee that your manuscript will be accepted for publication. If you would like information about one such service please click here. There are other specialist language editing companies that offer similar services and you can also use any of these. Authors are liable for all costs associated with such services.

AUTHOR SELF-ARCHIVING/PUBLIC ACCESS POLICY

For information about this journal's policy, please visit our Author Self-Archiving policy page.

SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL

Authors may provide supplemental material (appendices, additional tables and figures, etc.) along with their article in a separate file. This material will be made available online rather than in the printed journal. The supplemental material will be accessible to subscribers from a web-based link on the journal’s web site. All supplemental material will be posted online exactly as it is submitted, without copyediting or typesetting.

COLOR FIGURES

World Bank Economic Review is happy to announce the launch of the Flexible Color Option, beginning for all articles accepted after January 1, 2009. All figures submitted to the journal in color will be published in color online at no cost (unless the author specifically requests that their figures be in black and white online). Color figures must have a resolution of at least 300 dots per inch at their final size.

PERMISSIONS FOR ILLUSTRATIONS AND FIGURES

Permission to reproduce copyright material, for print and online publication in perpetuity, must be cleared and if necessary paid for by the author; this includes applications and payments to DACS, ARS, and similar licensing agencies where appropriate. Evidence in writing that such permissions have been secured from the rights-holder must be made available to the editors. It is also the author's responsibility to include acknowledgements as stipulated by the particular institutions. Oxford Journals can offer information and documentation to assist authors in securing print and online permissions: please see the Guidelines for Authors section. Information on permissions contacts for a number of main galleries and museums can also be provided. Should you require copies of this, please contact the editorial office of the journal in question or the Oxford Journals Rights department.

RESUBMISSIONS

Authors invited to resubmit are expected to turn in their revised manuscript within one year.

PRE-PUBLICATION POLICY

The World Bank Economic Review does not accept papers that have been previously published elsewhere with the exception of working papers series. The Journal’s policy regarding working paper series is:

  • Pre-publication in working paper series is allowed where submission to the working paper series is prior to acceptance by the Journal.
  • The working paper version may remain online after publication in the Journal.
  • The working paper version should NOT be updated after acceptance by the Journal.
  • Authors are requested to append the appropriate citation to the working paper version on acceptance by the Journal (if the working paper series allows this).