Qe Review Process

---
name: qe-review-process
description: Use to understand and plan around the Quantitative Economics (QE) editorial timeline — desk-reject risk, external refereeing, ~4-5 month target turnaround, 12-month revise windows, the Econometrica-transfer route, and the pre-acceptance ES Data Editor check. Sets expectations; it does not draft the paper.
---

# Review Process (qe-review-process)

## When to trigger

- You want to calibrate expectations on timeline and desk-reject risk before submitting
- You are deciding whether to use the Econometrica-transfer option
- You need to understand who decides and what gates lie between submission and acceptance
- A long silence has you wondering whether the target turnaround has elapsed

## How QE review works (verified 2026-06-01; re-confirm on ES pages)

QE runs **editor/coeditor-managed external peer review**. The handling coeditor may **desk-reject without external review** (typically within a couple of weeks); most — but not all — papers that pass desk go to **one or more outside referees**, often including an Associate Editor. The journal targets completing the review process in **about four to five months**. QE is **not double-blind**, and authors must **post the manuscript publicly during review**, so author identity is effectively open on the author side. **Revise offers are normally valid for 12 months.** Editor as of 2026: **Bernard Salanié** (2025–2029); co-Editors include Anna Mikusheva, Fabrizio Perri, Chao Fu, and Jim Hamilton (full roster 待核实).

## Gates between submission and acceptance

1. **Membership + fee gate** — at least one author must be an ES member; the submission fee (US$100 / US$50 student) is paid at submission unless transferring from Econometrica or invited (low-income-country exemption applies).
2. **Desk screen** — handling coeditor decides whether to send out; a desk reject is fast and the fee is **not refunded** when rejected without review.
3. **External refereeing** — one or more referees / an AE; the coeditor synthesizes.
4. **Revision rounds** — the coeditor's letter sets binding vs. optional points; revise offers run ~12 months.
5. **Pre-acceptance reproducibility check** — before final acceptance the **ES Data Editor** (inaugural Data Editor Joan Llull) runs reproducibility checks; raw data, code, and documentation must already be in hand (see `qe-replication-and-data-policy`).

## The Econometrica-transfer route

A paper previously rejected by *Econometrica* can be submitted to QE with the **option to transfer** the coeditor decision letter, referee reports, and cover letters directly from Econometrica. The QE process is **fully independent** of Econometrica; the transfer **waives the QE submission fee** (other publication fees still apply); the paper needs a cover letter explaining how it differs and how the prior referee comments were addressed. Use this when the Econometrica reports are constructive and the paper's fit is genuinely the empirical/quantitative QE lane.

## Checklist

- [ ] Membership and fee (or transfer/exemption) settled before submitting
- [ ] Realistic timeline noted: ~2 weeks to a desk decision; ~4–5 months to a full review
- [ ] Manuscript posted publicly (review is open on the author side)
- [ ] If transferring: prior Econometrica reports addressed in a cover letter
- [ ] Replication package assembled in advance of the pre-acceptance Data Editor check
- [ ] Revise window (~12 months) tracked if an R&R arrives

## Anti-patterns

- Assuming anonymity — QE is not double-blind and the paper is posted publicly
- Submitting without the replication package, then scrambling at the Data Editor stage
- Treating an Econometrica transfer as automatic acceptance — QE re-decides independently
- Reading too much into silence before the ~4–5 month target has passed

## Output format

```
【Stage】desk screen / out to referees / revision / pre-acceptance check
【Route】fresh submission / Econometrica transfer
【Timeline expectation】~2 wks desk; ~4-5 mo full review; ~12-mo revise window
【Open review noted】manuscript posted publicly? [Y/N]
【Data Editor readiness】package assembled? [Y/N]
【Next step】qe-submission (preflight) or qe-rebuttal (on R&R)
```