Aejmac Topic Selection

---
name: aejmac-topic-selection
description: Use when deciding whether a macro paper fits the American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics (AEJ: Macro) rather than AER, J. Monetary Economics, RED, or AEJ: Applied. Tests the broad-interest macro bar and venue fit; it does not write the paper or fix identification.
---

# Topic Selection & Venue Fit (aejmac-topic-selection)

## When to trigger

- You have a macro result but are unsure it is "AEJ: Macro-shaped" vs. a field outlet
- The question feels technically interesting but narrow to specialists
- You are choosing between AEJ: Macro, AER, JME, RED, and AEJ: Applied
- A coauthor wants to lead with a method (a new DSGE block, a new estimator) rather than a macro question

## The AEJ: Macro fit bar

AEJ: Macro is the AEA's **quarterly, broad-interest macro** journal (founded 2009; one of four AEJs). The fit test has three legs:

1. **Substantive macro question of broad interest.** Growth, business cycles, monetary/fiscal policy, labor-macro, international macro, or macro-finance — framed so a general macroeconomist (not only your subfield) cares about the answer. AEJ: Macro editorial decisions explicitly weigh *breadth of topic and interest to the AEJ: Macro audience* (检索于 2026-06；以官网为准).
2. **Quantitative discipline.** The paper must measure something with a credible mapping from model or data to the number. Either a quantitative-theoretical apparatus (DSGE / HANK / structural estimation / calibration) or an identified empirical design (SVAR / local projections / narrative / proxy-VAR) — AEJ: Macro welcomes **both**.
3. **Policy or mechanism relevance.** A memorable, decision-relevant quantity or mechanism, not just a sign or a significance star.

A paper that has only two of three is usually a field paper or an AER paper, not AEJ: Macro.

## Venue decision table

| Signal | Better venue | Why |
|--------|--------------|-----|
| Result reshapes the general macro consensus; first-order, top-of-field | **AER** (or *AER: Insights* if short) | AEJ: Macro is high-quality but not the general-interest flagship |
| Deep, technical contribution mainly for monetary/business-cycle theorists | **J. Monetary Economics** | Field depth over breadth |
| Quantitative dynamic-GE methods paper for the macro-methods community | **Review of Economic Dynamics (RED)** | RED is the quantitative-dynamics field home |
| Micro-empirical paper that happens to touch macro aggregates | **AEJ: Applied** | Applied identification over macro mechanism |
| Pure macro *theory* with no quantification | **Theoretical Economics / JET / RED** | AEJ: Macro values quantitative discipline |
| Broad macro question + disciplined quantification + policy relevance | **AEJ: Macro** | The sweet spot |

## Sharpening the question (do this before drafting)

- **State the macro quantity in one sentence**, with units: "a 100 bp monetary tightening lowers output by X% at horizon h," or "lifecycle earnings risk explains Y% of wealth inequality."
- **Name the audience**: which *general* macro readers should cite this, and for what claim?
- **Pick the tool the question demands**, not the tool you own: if the question is the *dynamic causal effect of a shock*, that is SVAR/LP/narrative; if it is *welfare or counterfactual under a policy regime*, that is a quantitative model; if it is *both*, plan a model-plus-evidence paper.
- **Pre-empt "why not the field journal?"** in one line — usually breadth + the AEA process + a quantity general readers want.

## Checklist

- [ ] One-sentence macro question with a quantity and units
- [ ] Passes all three legs (broad interest / quantitative discipline / policy-mechanism relevance)
- [ ] Venue table consulted; AEJ: Macro beats AER, JME, RED, AEJ: Applied for *this* paper
- [ ] Tool (model vs. identified empirics vs. hybrid) chosen by the question, not by habit
- [ ] Audience named: which general macroeconomists cite it and for what
- [ ] Not a thinly-quantified theory paper and not a narrow field-specialist paper

## Anti-patterns

- Leading with a method ("we add a new financial block to a DSGE") instead of a macro question readers care about
- A narrow business-cycle-accounting exercise dressed as broad interest — better at RED/JME
- Confusing "rigorous" with "broadly interesting": AEJ: Macro needs both
- Targeting AEJ: Macro as a consolation for an AER reject without re-framing the contribution for breadth
- A pure-theory result with a token calibration tacked on

## Output format

```
【Macro question (1 sentence + quantity/units)】...
【Three-leg fit】broad interest? [Y/N] quantitative discipline? [Y/N] policy/mechanism? [Y/N]
【Tool the question demands】SVAR / LP / narrative / DSGE / HANK / structural / hybrid
【Venue verdict】AEJ: Macro vs. {AER / JME / RED / AEJ: Applied} + one-line why
【Audience】which general macro readers cite it
【Next step】aejmac-literature-positioning
```