The ''American Economic Journal'' is a group of four

peer-reviewed Peer review is the evaluation of work by one or more people with similar competencies as the producers of the work ( peers). It functions as a form of self-regulation by qualified members of a profession within the relevant field. Peer review ...

academic journal An academic journal (or scholarly journal or scientific journal) is a periodical publication in which Scholarly method, scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. They serve as permanent and transparent forums for the ...

s published by the American Economic Association. The names of the individual journals consist of the prefix ''American Economic Journal'' with a descriptor of the field attached. The four field journals which started in 2009 are ''Applied Economics'', ''Economic Policy'', ''Macroeconomics'', and ''Microeconomics''.

History

The American Economic Association set up an ad hoc Committee on Journals chaired by Robert Hall which in April 2006, after a three-year study of the subject, recommended that the American Economic Association (AEA) start four new field journals. One of the reasons given was that almost all other academic societies publish more than three journals, and that by adding more journals, the diversity of editors would be increased. Other reasons included the elevated pricing of field journals in economics, most of which are published by

Elsevier Elsevier ( ) is a Dutch academic publishing company specializing in scientific, technical, and medical content. Its products include journals such as ''The Lancet'', ''Cell (journal), Cell'', the ScienceDirect collection of electronic journals, ...

, and the inability of '' The American Economic Review'' to deal with the large number of submissions it received. The recommendation to publish the four new journals was approved by the executive committee of the AEA in 2006 and the publication start date was set in 2009. The president of the AEA at the time, George Akerlof, appointed a search committees for the editors of the new journals. Although all four journals have a quarterly frequency, the ''American Economic Journal: Applied Economics'' was the only one to have four issues in 2009, its first year of publication. The other three journals had two issues in 2009 and moved to four in 2010.

''American Economic Journal: Applied Economics''

This journal publishes papers covering in

applied economics Applied economics is the application of economic theory and econometrics in specific settings. As one of the two sets of fields of economics (the other set being the ''core''), it is typically characterized by the application of the ''core'', i.e ...

, primarily on empirical microeconomic issues. Fields for this journal include labor economics, development microeconomics,

health economics Health economics is a branch of economics concerned with issues related to Health care efficiency, efficiency, effectiveness, value and behavior in the production and consumption of health and healthcare. Health economics is important in dete ...

education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...

demography Demography () is the statistical study of human populations: their size, composition (e.g., ethnic group, age), and how they change through the interplay of fertility (births), mortality (deaths), and migration. Demographic analysis examine ...

, empirical

corporate finance Corporate finance is an area of finance that deals with the sources of funding, and the capital structure of businesses, the actions that managers take to increase the Value investing, value of the firm to the shareholders, and the tools and analy ...

, empirical

international trade International trade is the exchange of capital, goods, and services across international borders or territories because there is a need or want of goods or services. (See: World economy.) In most countries, such trade represents a significan ...

, empirical

behavioral economics Behavioral economics is the study of the psychological (e.g. cognitive, behavioral, affective, social) factors involved in the decisions of individuals or institutions, and how these decisions deviate from those implied by traditional economi ...

, and empirical

political economy Political or comparative economy is a branch of political science and economics studying economic systems (e.g. Marketplace, markets and national economies) and their governance by political systems (e.g. law, institutions, and government). Wi ...

. This journal has established an online discussion forum at which published articles can be commented on.

Esther Duflo Esther Duflo, FBA (; born 25 October 1972) is a French-American economist currently serving as the Abdul Latif Jameel Professor of Poverty Alleviation and Development Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). In 2019, she w ...

was chosen as the first editor.

''American Economic Journal: Economic Policy''

This journal publishes papers dealing with

economic policy ''Economic Policy'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal published by Oxford University Press, Oxford Academic on behalf of the Centre for Economic Policy Research, the Center for Economic Studies (University of Munich), and the Paris Scho ...

and its role in economic outcomes. Fields that may find an outlet in this journal include

public economics Public economics ''(or economics of the public sector)'' is the study of government policy through the lens of economic efficiency and Equity (economics), equity. Public economics builds on the theory of welfare economics and is ultimately used as ...

, urban economics, health economics, education, welfare and political institutions,

law and economics Law and economics, or economic analysis of law, is the application of microeconomic theory to the analysis of law. The field emerged in the United States during the early 1960s, primarily from the work of scholars from the Chicago school of econ ...

, economic regulation, and environmental economics. Alan Auerbach was chosen as the first editor. He was followed by Matthew D. Shapiro, the current editor.

''American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics''

This journal publishes papers on macroeconomics, including aggregate fluctuations and growth, and policy related to these fields. Fields that may find an outlet in this journal include monetary theory, industrial organization, finance, labor economics, political economy, public finance, international economics, and development economics. Olivier Blanchard was chosen as the first editor. He resigned in 2009 stating that his duties as Chief Economist of the

International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution funded by 191 member countries, with headquarters in Washington, D.C. It is regarded as the global lender of las ...

proved incompatible with editing the journal in the context of the current financial crisis.Olivier Blanchard. "Report of the Editor. American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics", ''American Economic Review: Papers & Proceedings'', 2009, 99:2, 681–682, . He was replaced by Steven J. Davis. The current editor is John Leahy.

''American Economic Journal: Microeconomics''

This journal publishes papers on microeconomic theory. Fields that may find an outlet in this journal include industrial organization, international trade, political economy, and finance. Andrew Postlewaite was chosen as the first editor.

References

{{Reflist

External links

AEJ: Applied EconomicsAEJ: Economic PolicyAEJ: MacroeconomicsAEJ: Microeconomics
Economics journals Academic journals established in 2009 English-language journals Quarterly journals Academic journals published by learned and professional societies of the United States American Economic Association academic journals