ECONOMICS JOURNALS: AN EDITOR'S VIEW
SAM PELTZMAN
APRIL 22, 2021

View the webinar here.
(Also accessible here on YouTube.)

When you submit an article to an economics journal, what is the nature of the editorial process you are likely to encounter? Sam Peltzman discusses in depth the editorial process at The Journal of Law and Economcs, where he has served as an editor for 30 years. He looks at the distribution of outcomes for all articles submitted there during a typical year – total submssions, the various dispositions of all submssions, the total number finally published, and average times elapsed. He also discusses broadly the differing editorial practices of other major journals.

Peltzman notes that the role of economics journals in the profession has shifted. Earlier it was the main way of disseminating economists’ knowledge; now it has become instead an important certification device for promotion decisions. He concludes with a discussion of the main trends in economic research that editors see, and he offers advice for young economists on how to react. Mary Shirley chairs the program; Alexandra Benham and Lee Benham curate the Q&A session.

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  Sam Peltzman

About the Speaker
Sam Peltzman is the Ralph and Dorothy Keller Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus of Economics at the Booth School of Business, University of Chicago. He is also the Director Emeritus of the George J. Stigler Center for the Study of the Economy and the State there. He is an editor of The Journal of Law and Economics and is on the editorial boards of several other academic journals. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Ronald Coase Institute and has been a faculty member in its workshops and a speaker at several of its conferences.

Peltzman’s research focuses on issues related to the interface between the public sector and the private economy. His published work encompasses issues concerning the economics of government regulation and industrial organization. These include the regulation of banking, automobile safety, pharmaceutical innovation, the growth of government, the political economy of public education, and the economic analysis of voters and legislators. He is the author or an editor of several books.