''The Economic Journal'' is a
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 is a periodical publication in which scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. Academic journals serve as permanent and transparent forums for the presentation, scrutiny, and d ...
of
economics
Economics () is the social science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services.
Economics focuses on the behaviour and intera ...
published on behalf of the
Royal Economic Society
The Royal Economic Society (RES) is a professional association that promotes the study of economic science in academia, government service, banking, industry, and public affairs. Originally established in 1890 as the British Economic Association, ...
by
Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...
. The journal was established in 1891 and publishes papers from all areas of economics.The
editor-in-chief
An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies.
The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...
is Francesco Lippi (
& Einaudi Institute of Economics and Finance).
According to the
Journal Citation Reports
''Journal Citation Reports'' (''JCR'') is an annual publicationby Clarivate Analytics (previously the intellectual property of Thomson Reuters). It has been integrated with the Web of Science and is accessed from the Web of Science-Core Collect ...
, the journal has a 2020
impact factor
The impact factor (IF) or journal impact factor (JIF) of an academic journal is a scientometric index calculated by Clarivate that reflects the yearly mean number of citations of articles published in the last two years in a given journal, as i ...
of 3.178.
History
Introduction
The journal was conceived in November 1890, at the inauguration of the British Economic Association (which became the
Royal Economic Society
The Royal Economic Society (RES) is a professional association that promotes the study of economic science in academia, government service, banking, industry, and public affairs. Originally established in 1890 as the British Economic Association, ...
in 1902). One of the central aims of the new society was to create a forum through which British economic research could be published. In a circular sent out before the inaugural meeting,
Alfred Marshall
Alfred Marshall (26 July 1842 – 13 July 1924) was an English economist, and was one of the most influential economists of his time. His book '' Principles of Economics'' (1890) was the dominant economic textbook in England for many years. I ...
, one of the founding members of the society, indicated the significant impact a new journal would have on British economic science:
''...the need of an economic journal has long been felt in England. Every other country in which economic studies are pursued with great activity offers facilities for the publication of thorough scientific work... Englishmen (however)...are sometimes compelled to give their views to the world in the columns of a foreign periodical, or as a publication of the American Economic Association; but more frequently they put it aside till an opportunity should offer for working it out more fully and publishing it as a book; and that opportunity too often does not come.''
His words attracted around 200 people to the opening meeting of the Association, a demonstration of both the growing interest in economic science in England and the consensus that there was a need for a publication to represent this field in Britain. In response to this overwhelming support, the ''Economic Journal'' was published soon after the foundation of the Association, in March 1891.
Genesis of the journal
Between the years of 1886 and 1890 there had been much dialogue amongst respected British economists about the formation of a journal of economics. Sir Robert Harry
Inglis Palgrave
Sir Robert Harry Inglis Palgrave (11 June 1827 – 25 January 1919) was a British economist.
Early life
Robert Harry Inglis Palgrave was born on 11 June 1827. He was the son of Francis Palgrave (born Cohen) and his wife Elizabeth Turner, ...
(1827–1919), Editor of the Economist, initially proposed setting up a society that specialised in publishing translations and reprints of scarce economic works.
Herbert Somerton Foxwell
Herbert Somerton Foxwell, Fellow of the British Academy, FBA (17 June 1849 – 3 August 1936) was an English economist.
Biography
Foxwell was born in Somerset, the son of an ironmonger and slate and timber merchant. He received his early educa ...
(1849–1936), chair of Economics at University College London however, had a more ambitious venture in mind; a quarterly journal of current scholarship equivalent to such publications as the
Quarterly Journal of Economics
''The Quarterly Journal of Economics'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal published by the Oxford University Press for the Harvard University Department of Economics. Its current editors-in-chief are Robert J. Barro, Lawrence F. Katz, Nathan N ...
and the
Journal des Economistes
A journal, from the Old French ''journal'' (meaning "daily"), may refer to:
*Bullet journal, a method of personal organization
*Diary, a record of what happened over the course of a day or other period
*Daybook, also known as a general journal, a ...
. This type of publication, he argued, would enable British economists to ‘fraternise’ with the likes of the
American Economic Association
The American Economic Association (AEA) is a learned society in the field of economics. It publishes several peer-reviewed journals acknowledged in business and academia. There are some 23,000 members.
History and Constitution
The AEA was esta ...
.
Palgrave, Foxwell and Marshall first explored the possibility of establishing such a publication as part of the
Royal Statistical Society
The Royal Statistical Society (RSS) is an established statistical society. It has three main roles: a British learned society for statistics, a professional body for statisticians and a charity which promotes statistics for the public good.
...
. After discussions with the society, however, it was concluded that a new organisation should be inaugurated to pursue these aims. This decision was supported by the economist and philosopher
John Neville Keynes
John Neville Keynes ( ; 31 August 1852 – 15 November 1949) was a British economist and father of John Maynard Keynes.
Biography
Born in Salisbury, Wiltshire, Keynes was the child of John Keynes (1805–1878) and his wife Anna Maynard Neville ...
(1852–1949).
The founding members decided that an economic society should be created that was open to all those with an interest in economics, be they politicians, policy makers, scholars or laymen. The journal would follow a similar attitude of tolerance, publishing work from all areas of economic science with impartiality. The introduction to the first edition of the Economic Journal reiterated these intentions:
''The most opposite doctrines may meet here as on a fair field...Opposing theories of currency will be represented with equal impartiality. Nor will it be attempted to prescribe the method, any more than the result, of scientific investigation.''
Early issues of the journal indicate the meticulous efforts of the editors to adhere to this promise. Amongst the articles published in the early issues of the Journal were papers expressing socialist, individualist and Ruskinian views. The early insistence on publishing high quality works with impartiality and inclusivity has shaped the Economic Journal throughout its history.
Past editors
''The Economic Journal'' has been edited by some influential British economists. The first Editor of the Economic Journal in 1891 was
Francis Ysidro Edgeworth
Francis Ysidro Edgeworth (8 February 1845 – 13 February 1926) was an Anglo-Irish philosopher and political economist who made significant contributions to the methods of statistics during the 1880s. From 1891 onward, he was appointed the ...
(1845–1926). Edgeworth held a chair in economics at King's College London in 1888, and was appointed Drummond Professor of Political Economy at Oxford University in 1891. Despite his academic credentials, Edgeworth admitted the difficulty of establishing the new journal. He noted that after his appointment as editor:
''I wrote to Marshall asking advice on every small difficulty which arose, until he protested that, if the correspondence was to go on at that rate, he would have to use envelopes with my address printed on them.''
Edgeworth continued his work as editor until 1911, assisted between 1896 and 1905 by
Henry Higgs Henry Higgs (4 March 1864 – 21 May 1940) was a British civil servant, economist, and historian of economic thought.
Higgs joined the War Office as a Lower Division Clerk in 1882. From there he moved to the Postmaster General's Office in 1884 whe ...
(1864–1940), one of the founding members of the British Economic Association, and a key player in the Society's application for Royal Charter in 1902. Edgeworth reprised his editorial role between 1918 and 1925 alongside John Maynard Keynes.
John Maynard Keynes
John Maynard Keynes, 1st Baron Keynes, ( ; 5 June 1883 – 21 April 1946), was an English economist whose ideas fundamentally changed the theory and practice of macroeconomics and the economic policies of governments. Originally trained in ...
(1883–1946), the leading economic theorist, civil service policy maker and the son of
John Neville Keynes
John Neville Keynes ( ; 31 August 1852 – 15 November 1949) was a British economist and father of John Maynard Keynes.
Biography
Born in Salisbury, Wiltshire, Keynes was the child of John Keynes (1805–1878) and his wife Anna Maynard Neville ...
, took up the editorial position between 1912 and 1944, ensuring the continued publication of the Journal through both the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
and the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. During his lengthy term he edited alongside the former student of Marshall and Professor of Political Economics at Leeds University
D. H. MacGregor
David Hutchison MacGregor (1877, Monifieth, Angus, Scotland – 8 May 1953, Oxford, England) was a Scottish economist and Drummond Professor of Political Economy at the University of Oxford and Fellow of All Souls, Oxford, from 1921 to ...
(Joint Editor between 1925 and 1933) and one of his own former students
Austin Robinson
Sir Edward Austin Gossage Robinson, (20 November 1897 – 1 June 1993, Cambridge, England) was a University of Cambridge economist. He was an undergraduate at Christ's College, Cambridge, and a fellow of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge.
A clo ...
(Assistant Editor 1934–1940).
The editorship of Sir
Austin Robinson
Sir Edward Austin Gossage Robinson, (20 November 1897 – 1 June 1993, Cambridge, England) was a University of Cambridge economist. He was an undergraduate at Christ's College, Cambridge, and a fellow of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge.
A clo ...
(1897–1993) began in 1934 as an Assistant Editor and ended in 1970 as Editor. Robinson was a Government Adviser to the
War Cabinet
A war cabinet is a committee formed by a government in a time of war to efficiently and effectively conduct that war. It is usually a subset of the full executive cabinet of ministers, although it is quite common for a war cabinet to have senior ...
and the
Board of Trade
The Board of Trade is a British government body concerned with commerce and industry, currently within the Department for International Trade. Its full title is The Lords of the Committee of the Privy Council appointed for the consideration of ...
before returning to Cambridge as a lecturer. During his 36-year service for the ''Economic Journal'', Robinson also served as secretary for the
Royal Economic Society
The Royal Economic Society (RES) is a professional association that promotes the study of economic science in academia, government service, banking, industry, and public affairs. Originally established in 1890 as the British Economic Association, ...
. As commemoration for his dedicated service to the ''Economic Journal'', a prize is now offered in his honour.
Edgeworth and Keynes were the only editors to take sole responsibility for the ''Economic Journal''. As the journal grew in size and significance, so too did the editorial board. By the 1980s the EJ was publishing 5 issues a year, supervised by at least six editors. In 1991 this was increased to 6 issues a year and in 1999 the current format of 8 issues per year was established. Today, the '' Economic Journal'' is overseen by seven joint managing editors.
Editorial Information
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Further reading
History of the journal
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Founder members and editors
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References
;Notes
;Bibliography
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External links
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* Initial volumes at archive.org
The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...
1 (1891)
3 (1893)
4 (1894)
5 (1895)
6 (1896)
7 (1897)
8 (1898)
9 (1899)
10 (1900)
11 (1901)
13 (1903)
15 (1905)
16 (1906)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Economic Journal
Publications established in 1891
Economics journals
1891 in economics
Academic journals associated with learned and professional societies
Oxford University Press academic journals
8 times per year journals
English-language journals