Submissions are now open!
We are pleased to announce that we are now accepting submissions for the second issue of the Bocconi Economic Journal. There is no fixed deadline, as submissions will be reviewed on a rolling basis as they arrive. We encourage early submissions to ensure that we have sufficient time to review your manuscript for consideration in this issue and, if necessary, allow for a revise-and-resubmit process within the publication timeline. Make sure to review the Editorial Policy and the FAQs on this page.
→ Submission form
FAQs
Q: Does my manuscript have to satisfy specific requirements?
A: Manuscripts shall not exceed 10’000 words in length. You can use this tool made available by the AEA to check the length of your work. You should exclude title, abstract and reference lists when computing the word count. Before submitting a longer manuscript, please contact the Editor. Manuscripts must be written in English and include an abstract of no more than 200 words. The Bocconi Economic Journal is a generalist economics journal: submissions from all fields of economics are welcome, provided they demonstrate clear motivation, methodological rigor, and relevance to the broader economic debate.
Q: How can I submit my paper?
A: Use the link at the top of this page. Make sure to follow the instructions posted in the submission form to make sure that your paper is double-blind ready. You will only be required to provide a PDF version at the time of submission. Once your paper is accepted, you will be asked to submit the final version in LaTeX, ensuring compliance with our editorial guidelines and using our document class file, which will be made available upon acceptance.
Q: What happens when my paper is accepted?
A: Once accepted, the paper is sent to the Publishing House that finalizes the review process and prepares it for publication. Once the issue is ready, your paper will be published on our website and available on major search engines.
Editorial Policy
Peer Review Process
All manuscripts submitted to the Bocconi Economic Journal undergo a rigorous peer-review process to ensure the quality, integrity, and relevance of published research.
Upon submission, each manuscript is first evaluated by the Editor and Co-Editors for fit, originality, and scientific standards. This desk review determines whether the paper proceeds to peer review or is declined. Suitable manuscripts are then assigned to two referees, chosen from the pool of Associate Editors or, when needed, from qualified external reviewers.
The Journal follows a double-blind system for referees, meaning that neither the author nor the referees will know each other’s identities. Reviewers are expected to provide objective, detailed, and timely evaluations focusing on originality, methodological soundness, and contribution to the field. The process, however, is not blind to the Editorial Board, as the Co-Editors are aware of the author’s identity to ensure appropriate reviewer assignment and accountability of the final decision. Authors, in turn, are also aware of the identity of the Co-Editors handling their manuscript.
Final decisions rest with the Editor, based on referees’ reports and Co-Editors’ recommendations. Accepted papers are then reviewed by the Scientific Director, who assigns them for final approval to a member of the faculty, to ensure they meet the Journal’s academic standards before publication. This phase is single-blind, meaning that the author does not know the identity of the reviewer, while the reviewer knows the name of the author.
Editorial Decisions
Following peer review, manuscripts may receive one of these decisions: (i) Acceptance, indicating that the paper meets the Journal’s standards with only minor editorial adjustments; (ii) Minor Revision, requiring limited clarifications or corrections before acceptance; (iii) Revise and Resubmit, inviting substantial changes to analysis, methodology, or framing, after which the revised version will undergo further evaluation; or (iv) Reject, where the paper is deemed unsuitable for publication. In all cases, detailed feedback from referees and editors is provided to ensure transparency and to support authors in improving their work. Please note that the indicative time window for an R&R decision is six months. Papers requiring more extensive revisions such that a resubmission would be expected beyond this date are rejected. All editorial decisions are final.
The BEJ strives to ensure a fair and efficient review process. Authors are typically informed of the outcome of the desk review within three weeks of submission. For manuscripts sent to external review, the first round of refereeing is usually completed within 8–10 weeks. Revised manuscripts are generally evaluated within 4–6 weeks, depending on the extent of changes required. While timelines may vary, the editorial team is committed to maintaining transparent and timely communication throughout the process.
Conflicts of Interest
A conflict of interest arises when personal, professional, or financial considerations could reasonably be perceived to affect the objectivity of any participant in the editorial process. This includes authors, referees, Associate Editors, Co-Editors, and the Editor.
Authors must disclose any financial support, institutional affiliations, or personal relationships that could influence the research or its interpretation. This declaration must be made at submission through the online form. If no conflict is declared, the Journal assumes that the policy has been reviewed and no relevant interests exist. Disclosures are included in the published manuscript.
Referees are expected to decline invitations to review when they have a conflict that might compromise impartiality – such as a close collaboration, institutional connection, or personal relationship with any of the authors. Referees must promptly notify the editors of any potential conflict identified after accepting a review assignment.
Associate Editors and Co-Editors must recuse themselves from handling a manuscript in which they have a personal or professional connection with the authors or an interest in the outcome. In such cases, the Editor will reassign the paper to another qualified member of the editorial team to ensure fairness. Members of the Editorial Board (the Editor and Co-Editors) are not permitted to publish their own research in the Bocconi Economic Journal.
Failure to disclose a relevant conflict may lead to rejection of the manuscript or, if discovered post-publication, retraction of the article. All participants share responsibility for upholding the integrity and transparency of the review process.
Submissions from Associate Editors are strongly discouraged. Such manuscripts may still be considered, provided that the author is fully recused from all stages of the editorial process. In these cases, the Editorial Board will implement appropriate safeguards to ensure that the submission is handled independently and that any potential conflicts of interest are fully avoided.
Publication Standards
Submissions from all fields of economics are welcome, provided they demonstrate clear motivation, methodological rigor, and relevance to the broader economic debate. Manuscripts submitted to the journal must present original pieces of research and take the form of a scientific research paper. The journal does not publish essays or summaries that do not include original research, theoretical development, or data analysis. Papers that replicate existing studies are welcome, provided that they include a clear extension, innovation, or methodological improvement beyond the original work, demonstrating an independent contribution.
Eligibility Conditions
Only current Bocconi students or those who graduated within the past two years at the date of submission are eligible to submit to the Bocconi Economic Journal. For manuscripts with multiple authors, at least one of the authors must meet such requirements. Authors are not allowed to submit revisions of manuscripts that have been previously rejected unless they are explicitly invited to resubmit by an editor.
Editorial Norms
Manuscripts must be written in English and include an abstract of no more than 200 words. Manuscripts shall not exceed 10,000 words in length.
Upon acceptance, detailed editorial rules concerning figures, tables, references, appendices etc. are shared with the authors. The LaTeX project template is also made available.
The sequence of papers in each issue is determined by the editor in consultation with the coeditors. The first paper, known as the “lead article,” is selected by the editor to highlight work of particular significance, considering factors such as the importance of the research questions, the quality and rigor of the analysis, the novelty of the contribution, and the clarity of presentation. The remaining papers are generally arranged according to their order of acceptance, although the editorial board may adjust this order at its discretion.
Replication
The journal encourages authors to provide replication packages containing the data and code used in their analysis at the time of submission, although this is not strictly required. During the review process, referees or editors may request access to replication materials for some or all parts of the analysis in order to assess the robustness and reproducibility of the results. If requested, replication packages should include comprehensive documentation to ensure successful replication. All empirical analyses must be reproducible, and relevant data manipulation and analytical procedures must be clearly described in the manuscript. When reproducibility is not possible - for instance, due to data confidentiality - authors must provide a clear and well-documented justification. Any form of academic misconduct, including data falsification or manipulation of results, is strictly prohibited and may lead to rejection or retraction.
AI Policy
Artificial intelligence (AI) tools, such as chatbots or other large language models, may be used to assist in manuscript preparation provided they are used appropriately and responsibly. The use of AI tools for basic proofreading, spelling, grammar or formatting does not need special disclosure, but any use for substantive drafting should be disclosed and briefly described at submission. Authors must fact-check all AI-generated content, ensure it is accurate, properly referenced and complies with ethical norms (including data privacy, copyright and plagiarism), and integrate it responsibly into the manuscript. Authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, integrity, and quality of all content in their manuscripts, including any material produced with AI assistance.
Reviewers and editors must not use AI tools to summarize, analyze, or evaluate manuscripts. They may, however, use AI tools solely for writing assistance (for example, to improve clarity, structure, or language in correspondence and reports) provided such use does not influence the substance of editorial or review judgments.