ecta-submission

Submission Preflight (ecta-submission)

When to trigger

• "Submitting tomorrow"; final check before clicking submit on Editorial Express
• Unsure how to split the body (≤45 pages) vs. the Supplemental Material
• Unsure which files and declarations the portal needs

Verify all volatile specifics — portal URL, submission fee, the current Data and Code Availability Policy, the editorial board, and formatting rules — on the official journal site before submitting. The figures below were current as of 2026-05-30 but change.

Econometrica specifics (verify; current as of 2026-05-30)

• Membership + fee: at least one author must be a member of the Econometric Society. Submission fee (from Jan 1, 2025): US$125 regular member, US$50 student member. Invited resubmissions and ES-journal transfers are fee-exempt.
• Length: main text ≤45 pages including references and appendices; font ≥12pt, line spacing ≥1.5, margins ≥1.25in. Supplemental Appendix ≤25 pages, same formatting; additional online Supplemental Material (proofs, Monte Carlo detail) is uploaded with the submission and does not count toward the limit.
• Front matter: abstract ≤150 words, keywords required, JEL codes optional.
• Portal: Editorial Express (editorialexpress.com, dbase=econometrica).
• Replication: governed by the Econometric Society Data and Code Availability Policy; the Data Editor runs a reproducibility check at conditional acceptance; deposit at the ES Journals' Community on Zenodo (see ecta-replication-package).
• Anonymization: UNVERIFIED. Economics convention is single-anonymous (referees know the author); confirm whether Econometrica currently requires a de-identified PDF before relying on it.

Pre-submission checklist

Manuscript assembly

• Main text states the contribution / informal main theorem early
• Main text fits ≤45 pages incl. references and appendices; font ≥12pt / spacing ≥1.5 / margins ≥1.25in
• Definitions and assumptions are numbered, displayed objects
• Theorems numbered consistently; cross-references by number
• Proof sketches in the body; full proofs in the Supplemental Material if long
• Supplemental Appendix ≤25 pages; further Supplemental Material carries full proofs, Monte Carlo detail, additional results
• Every number in the text matches the tables
• Abstract ≤150 words; keywords present; JEL codes (optional) included if used

Supplemental Material

• Full, complete proofs of every result not proven in full in the body
• Complete Monte Carlo design and any additional simulations
• Additional theorems / extensions referenced from the body
• Supplemental Appendix within ≤25 pages; further material in unrestricted Supplemental Material
• Self-contained and cross-referenced from the main text

Anonymization (verify — UNVERIFIED whether currently required)

• If a de-identified PDF is required: no author-identifying content in the body
• Self-citation phrased in the third person ("X (2020) shows"), not "our earlier work"
• Acknowledgments / funding removed from the anonymized manuscript
• File metadata scrubbed of author names
• Confirm the journal's current blinding policy on the Instructions/Editorial Procedures pages

References

• Every in-text citation appears in the reference list and vice versa
• Theorem-level results cited precisely (which theorem, not just the paper) where the proof relies on them
• Reference style matches the journal's current requirement
• Foundational and contemporaneous work cited fairly

Data and Code Availability Policy (Econometric Society)

• Replication package built and reproduces from a clean checkout (see ecta-replication-package)
• Monte Carlo / simulation tables reproduce bit-for-bit (seeds recorded) — simulations are in-scope
• Data provenance / access documented; restricted-data procedures handled
• README in PDF (Social Science Data Editors' template); Zenodo deposit planned (ES Journals' Community)
• If pure theory (no empirical/experimental/simulation results): exemption noted at initial submission
• Verified against the current ES Data Editor policy and deposit location

Fee and member status

• Submission fee handled (US$125 regular / US$50 student member, from 2025 — verify current amounts)
• At least one author is a current Econometric Society member
• Fee-exemption checked if an invited resubmission or ES-journal transfer

Editorial Express operation

• Submit via Editorial Express (editorialexpress.com, dbase=econometrica; verify the current URL via the journal site).
• Upload the main manuscript and the Supplemental Material as the portal specifies.
• Enter abstract (≤150 words), keywords, and JEL codes (optional) accurately.
• Provide qualified, conflict-free referee suggestions (see ecta-referee-strategy).
• Choose the correct classification / field for routing to an appropriate co-editor.
• At conditional acceptance, final files (and the replication package) go to a separate Editorial Express account for the Data Editor's reproducibility check.

Anti-patterns

• Submitting with proofs only in the body and the Supplemental Material not assembled
• A body over 45 pages (incl. references and appendices) with no prior editor exception
• Submitting without an Econometric Society member among the authors, or unpaid fee
• Asymptotics in, Monte Carlo left for "the revision" — often a fast rejection
• A replication package that does not actually reproduce (the Data Editor will run it)
• An off-the-shelf applied paper with no methodological contribution (eligibility desk-reject)
• Citing a survey where the proof depends on a specific theorem
• Trusting a stale fee / board / policy figure instead of verifying on the journal site

Output format

【Body ≤45pp + split】within limit + proofs split correctly: yes/no
【Supplemental Material assembled】yes/no — missing: [...]
【Anonymization】pass / fix / N/A (verify if required): [...]
【References】in/out consistent: yes/no
【ES Data & Code Policy】reproduces + Zenodo plan / theory-exempt: yes/no
【Fee + ES membership】handled: yes/no (US$125/US$50 — verify)
【Next step】await decision / R&R / conditional acceptance → ecta-rebuttal

Related resources

• templates/checklist.md — full pre-submission self-check (manuscript, appendix, anonymization, proofs, simulations, references, replication, portal)
• templates/manuscript_template.md — standard theory/methods manuscript skeleton (assumptions, theorems, proof sketches, Supplemental Material)
• ../../resources/external_tools.md — typesetting, symbolic/computation, and reproducibility toolchain