jae-topic-selection

Topic Selection & JAE Fit (jae-topic-selection)

When to trigger

• You have a dataset or a hunch but no economics-based question
• You are unsure whether the idea belongs at JAE versus JAR, TAR, RAST, or a finance journal
• A coauthor frames the project normatively ("how should firms report?") rather than positively
• The question is "interesting" but you cannot name the economic mechanism

The JAE fit test

JAE publishes positive (economics-based) accounting research. A fitting question lives in one of its core domains and is driven by an economic force:

1. Accounting within the firm — internal control, budgeting, performance measurement as economic mechanisms.
2. Information content in capital markets — how accounting numbers move prices, returns, liquidity, analyst behavior.
3. Financial contracting & monitoring — debt covenants, executive compensation, agency relationships, governance.
4. Determination of accounting standards — the political/economic forces shaping GAAP/IFRS.
5. Regulation of disclosure and the profession — SEC/PCAOB rules, mandatory vs. voluntary disclosure, audit.

Ask: What economic friction (information asymmetry, agency conflict, transaction cost, regulatory constraint) makes accounting matter here, and what observable behavior does it predict? If you cannot answer, the topic is not yet JAE-ready.

Positive, not normative

In the Watts-Zimmerman tradition that founded JAE in 1979, the journal explains and predicts accounting choices and consequences; it does not prescribe what firms should do. Reframe "should" questions into "why do firms do X, and with what consequences?" Screen out pure behavioral-experimental puzzles, design-science artifacts, and practitioner how-to pieces — those are off-fit.

Choosing among accounting journals

• JAE: economics-based mechanism + large-sample archival (or analytical) test; contracting/disclosure/capital-markets emphasis.
• JAR: similar archival rigor but a mandatory replication package — only pursue if you can share code/data.
• TAR: wider tent — experimental and analytical work also fit.
• RAST: archival, frequently valuation- and capital-markets-focused.
• A pure asset-pricing question with little accounting content belongs at a finance journal (e.g., JFE), not JAE.

A "ready" JAE question

• Names an economic mechanism, not just a correlation.
• Has a plausible identification path (a shock, instrument, or natural experiment) you can access.
• Uses data you can build from WRDS (Compustat/CRSP/I/B/E/S/Execucomp/DealScan/Audit Analytics) or hand-collected disclosure.
• Maps to JEL codes (you will need up to 6) — if no JEL code fits, reconsider the economics framing.

Checklist

• Question sits in a JAE core domain (firm/markets/contracting/standards/disclosure)
• An economic friction and a testable prediction are named
• Framing is positive (explain/predict), not normative
• A feasible identification strategy is visible
• Required data are accessible; sample is buildable
• JEL codes exist for the topic
• JAE beats JAR/TAR/RAST/JFE as the target for this paper

Anti-patterns

• "Compustat fishing": a significant correlation with no economic story.
• Normative drift: "firms should disclose more" with no positive prediction.
• Wrong-venue behavioral lab study dressed as archival.
• No identification: a topic where endogeneity cannot plausibly be addressed.

Output format

【Domain】firm / capital-markets / contracting / standards / disclosure
【Economic friction】information asymmetry / agency / transaction cost / regulation
【Prediction】...
【Identification idea】shock / IV / DiD / RD ...
【Data】WRDS sources + sample feasibility
【JEL codes】...
【Why JAE (not JAR/TAR/RAST)】...
【Next step】jae-theory-development