Information for Authors

Mission Statement

The mission of The World Bank Economic Review is to encourage and support research in the field of development economics. We seek to publish and disseminate innovative theoretical and empirical research that identifies, analyzes, measures, and evaluates the macro- and micro-economic forces that promote or impede economic development with a view towards providing the knowledge necessary for designing, implementing, and sustaining effective development policies in low- and middle-income countries. Our intended audience comprises a worldwide readership of economists and other social scientists in government, business, international agencies, universities, and research institutions. 

While the WBER is supported by the World Bank its mission is to the field of economic development as a whole. The editors are happy to consider high quality research from inside or outside the World Bank; all submissions are subject to the same refereeing process and standards. Consistency with the policy of the World Bank plays no role in the selection of articles. 

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

Our process is single blind; only the referees are anonymous and author names and affiliations should be included on the title page of the submission. Articles are reviewed by at least two referees from the World Bank and/or from outside the institution.

Traditional or Revisionless Review Process

The WBER offers authors the possibility to submit a paper to a revisionless review process, with the objective to improve the author and the referee experience for experienced researchers. When submitting a paper, authors will be able to choose either the traditional review process or a revisionless review process:

• In the traditional review process at the WBER, the submission will first be evaluated by an editor who decides whether to send the manuscript out for review. If the manuscript is sent out to review, the editor typically either rejects or asks for a revision based on a combination of the editor's reading of the paper and feedback received from referees.
• Authors have the option of selecting an alternative, revisionless review process. In a revisionless review, everything is the same as the traditional review process except the authors take away the ability of the editor and the referees to ask for a revision. The decision will either be an accept or a reject. Authors will not be asked to revise the paper before a final decision is made; although if the paper is accepted, they will have an opportunity to make changes based on the feedback received. This revisionless process reduces the time between submission and final decision but is only appropriate for senior, experienced researchers in economics.

Data Availability

Availability of Data and Materials

The World Bank Economic Review requires all authors, where ethically possible, to publicly release all data and software code underlying any published paper as a condition of publication. If data are proprietary or the requirement otherwise cannot be met, this should be noted in a cover letter to the editor on submission. We require that data be presented in the main manuscript or additional supporting files, or deposited in a public repository whenever possible. Information on general repositories for all data types, and a list of recommended repositories by subject area, is available here.

Data Availability Statement

The inclusion of a Data Availability Statement is a requirement for articles published in The World Bank Economic Review. Data Availability Statements provide a standardized format for readers to understand the availability of data underlying the research results described in the article. The statement may refer to original data generated in the course of the study or to third-party data analyzed in the article. The statement should describe and provide means of access, where possible, by linking to the data or providing the required unique identifier. The Data Availability Statement should be included in the endmatter of your article under the heading ‘Data availability’. More information and example Data Availability Statements can be found here.

Submission of Papers

Submissions must be made online on the WBER Scholar One Manuscript submission site. Full instructions for online submission can be found on this page​ or via the online submission site.

Journal of Economic Literature (JEL) Classification Codes

The Journal offers browse-by-subject using JEL codes. Authors should provide the relevant JEL codes upon submission.

Length of Submissions

Submissions should not exceed 40 pages in total length, at 12-point font, double spaced,  Times New Roman, or similar font and one-inch margins and should be in pdf format.  The 40 pages should include all content subject to peer review including tables, figures, references, footnotes, and appendices. Authors are encouraged to use a supplementary on-line appendix for additional material. Only full papers are considered for publication, not summaries or editorials.

Turnaround Times

The decision on whether or not a paper is sent for refereeing is taken by the editors, generally within one to two weeks of submission. Once a paper is sent for refereeing all possible efforts are made to give authors as rapid a turnaround as possible. Referees are expected to submit their reports within a five weeks period and are offered an incentive fee if they meet the required schedule. The maximum time it takes for an editorial decision (first round) to be given is 3 months, which compares favorably to other peer-reviewed journals.

Resubmissions

Authors invited to resubmit are expected to turn in their revised manuscript within six months. An extension will be considered on request.

Supplemental Material

Authors should 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.

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]."

Author Self-Archiving/Public Access Policy

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

Figure accessibility and alt text

Incorporating alt text (alternative text) when submitting your paper helps to foster inclusivity and accessibility. Good alt text ensures that individuals with visual impairments or those using screen readers can comprehend the content and context of your figures. The aim of alt text is to provide concise and informative descriptions of your figure so that all readers have access to the same level of information and understanding, and that all can engage with and benefit from the visual elements integral to scholarly content. Including alt text demonstrates a commitment to accessibility and enhances the overall impact and reach of your work.  

Alt text is applicable to all images, figures, illustrations, and photographs. 

Alt text is only accessible via e-reader and so it won’t appear as part of the typeset article. 

Detailed guidance on how to draft and submit alt text. 

Color Figures

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 ([email protected])  department.

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).

Copyright

Upon receipt of accepted manuscripts at Oxford Journals, authors will be invited to complete an online copyright licence to publish form.

Please note that by submitting an article for publication, you confirm that you are the corresponding/submitting author and that Oxford University Press ("OUP") may retain your email address for the purpose of communicating with you about the article. You agree to notify OUP immediately if your details change. If your article is accepted for publication OUP will contact you using the email address you have used in the registration process. Please note that OUP does not retain copies of rejected articles. 

The World Bank Economic Review offers the option of publishing under either a standard licence or an open access licence. Please note that some funders require open access publication as a condition of funding. If you are unsure whether you are required to publish open access, please do clarify any such requirements with your funder or institution.

Should you wish to publish your article open access, you should select your choice of open access licence in our online system after your article has been accepted for publication. You will need to pay an open access charge to publish under an open access licence.

Details of the open access licences and open access charges.

OUP has a growing number of Read and Publish agreements with institutions and consortia which provide funding for open access publishing. This means authors from participating institutions can publish open access, and the institution may pay the charge. Find out if your institution is participating.

3rd-Party Content in Open Access Papers

If you will be publishing your paper under an Open Access license but it contains material for which you do not have Open Access re-use permissions, please state this clearly by supplying the following credit line alongside the material: 

Title of content 

Author, Original publication, year of original publication, by permission of [rights holder] 

This image/content is not covered by the terms of the Creative Commons license of this publication. For permission to reuse, please contact the rights holder.

Crossref Funding Data Registry

In order to meet your funding requirements authors are required to name their funding sources, or state if there are none, during the submission process. For further information on this process or to find out more about CHORUS, visit the CHORUS initiative.