Proposed Plan for Additional Society Journals
Proposed Plan for Additional Society Journals
Lars Peter Hansen, Matthew Jackson, David Levine, Rob Porter
Summary
We propose that the Econometric Society create two new specialty journals. One would be focused on economic theory, both pure and applied. The other would focus on methods and applications, including theoretical econometrics, applied econometrics, computational economics and experimental economics. It is the committee's view that at least two specialty journals need to be created simultaneously; to create only one would effectively make it "Econometrica B," not a plan we favor. Our expectation is that the number of submissions will quickly grow to the level of JET and the Journal of Econometrics. The editorial boards should be sized accordingly, but the details of how big and who should be on the boards should be resolved by the Executive Committee. These editorial boards should be independent of each other and of Econometrica. "Trickle down" submissions to Econometrica should not be encouraged, but if authors choose to resubmit papers rejected from Econometrica to the specialty journals, the editors of those journals should have access to the Econometrica referee reports.
The new journals should be available both online and in print, and should be sold as a package with Econometrica to libraries. The price of the library package would be raised to cover the additional costs of running the new journals. Individual members of the society could choose to subscribe to the print version for an extra fee (this is how the American Economic Review handles the journals that they have added to their collection). The online version of the journal should be available as an open access journal, meaning no special permission is needed to view or download pdf versions of the articles. A modest submission fee (to the new journals only) should be charged to help cover the reduced demand for the print version due to providing open access to the electronic version. It is the view of the committee that over the long-term Econometrica also should move to open access. The new journals will be a first step in the direction, and should be combined with increased password free access to older issues of Econometrica.
One journal would be called Econometrica: Theory, the other would be called Econometrica: Methods and Applications.
