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The Quarterly Journal of Economics (QJE) is a general-interest economics journal edited at Harvard University’s Department of Economics and hosted on Oxford Academic. This profile is for researchers checking a citation, confirming an ISSN or indexing record, or deciding whether to submit, and it separates what the journal’s own pages state from what you should confirm yourself. All journal facts below were read on the journal’s pages on 2026-11-07.
What the Quarterly Journal of Economics is
The journal’s About page describes it as the oldest professional journal of economics in the English language, edited at Harvard University’s Department of Economics, covering all aspects of the field. Its identifiers are print ISSN 0033-5533 and online ISSN 1531-4650. Use the ISSN to disambiguate it from similarly named titles when you build a reference or a repository record.
Who runs it and what it covers
The journal is edited at Harvard’s Department of Economics; the site carries a copyright line to the President and Fellows of Harvard College and is hosted on Oxford Academic, the Oxford University Press platform. Scope is stated broadly: all aspects of economics, not a single subfield.
Indexing and metrics as stated by the journal
- Indexing listed on the About page includes EconLit, RePEc, Scopus, the Social Sciences Citation Index and ProQuest Central.
- The page displays a 2025 Clarivate Impact Factor of 13.1, a five-year Impact Factor of 20.9 and an economics category rank of 3 of 626, as shown on the date read. Metrics change each reporting cycle, so cite the figure with its year and source rather than copying it forward.
For how economics journals are ranked outside Clarivate, see our guide to RePEc journal rankings. To classify a QJE paper by subject, see JEL codes.
How to find articles and the author information
- Open the journal’s home on Oxford Academic (academic.oup.com/qje) to browse issues and search within the journal.
- Use the About page for scope, indexing and metrics.
- Use the Instructions to Authors page for abstract, licence and supplementary-material rules.
- Use the Data Policy page for replication requirements before you plan an empirical submission.
- Manuscripts are submitted through the Submission Site listed on the About page (editorialexpress.com/qje). Editorial contact details are on the Harvard Department of Economics page for the journal.
What the author pages state
Abstract and length
Abstracts must be no more than 250 words, and the first page gives the total word count. The instructions state no word or page limit. Supplementary material is submitted with the manuscript for peer review.
Licence choice and open access
The instructions say authors can publish under either a standard licence or an open access licence, and that an open access charge is payable for the open access licence. Read and Publish institutions may cover it; the amount is not given on the page, so ask OUP or your library for the current charge. See our guide to open access publishing and the open access definition for the terminology.
Data and replication policy
The journal adopts the American Economic Review data availability policy and publishes papers only if the data are clearly and precisely documented and readily available for replication. For accepted empirical, simulation or experimental papers, authors supply data, programs and computation details, which are posted to the QJE Dataverse after acceptance together with a Readme PDF. A proprietary-data exemption needs editor approval, and programs are still required. Plan this package early; it is a data availability obligation, not an afterthought.
Strengths and limits
- Strength: broad scope, long history and a clear, published replication process.
- Strength: listed in the main economics indexes (EconLit, RePEc) and in Scopus and the SSCI.
- Limit: the journal’s pages do not state a peer review model, acceptance rate, submission fee or open access charge amount, so do not assume them; confirm with the editorial office.
- Limit: a journal-level Impact Factor says little about any individual article.
Other general-interest economics journals
Journals commonly discussed alongside the QJE are listed by name only; check each journal’s own pages for scope and policy.
| Journal | Where to check its policy |
|---|---|
| American Economic Review | American Economic Association (data policy the QJE adopts) |
| Econometrica | Econometric Society |
| Journal of Political Economy | The journal’s own site |
| Review of Economic Studies | The journal’s own site |
FAQ
What is the Quarterly Journal of Economics?
A general economics journal edited at Harvard University’s Department of Economics, described on its About page as the oldest professional journal of economics in English, with ISSN 0033-5533 (print) and 1531-4650 (online).
Where is the Quarterly Journal of Economics indexed?
Its About page lists EconLit, RePEc, Scopus, the Social Sciences Citation Index and ProQuest Central (read 2026-11-07).
What is its Impact Factor?
The About page showed a 2025 Impact Factor of 13.1 and a five-year figure of 20.9 on 2026-11-07. Check Clarivate’s Journal Citation Reports for the current value.
Does the QJE require data and code?
Yes for accepted empirical, simulation and experimental papers, under the AEA-based policy described above.
Can I publish open access in the QJE?
The instructions offer a standard licence or an open access licence; the latter carries a charge.
Sources
- QJE: About the journal (read 2026-11-07)
- QJE: Instructions to Authors (read 2026-11-07)
- QJE: Data Policy (read 2026-11-07)
