jde-workflow

JDE Workflow Router (jde-workflow)

Overview

This is the router. It does not replace any specialized skill. It tells you which jde- skill to use at the current stage* of a manuscript aimed at the Journal of Development Economics.

Default assumption: unless the user says otherwise, treat the target as JDE — the leading field journal in development economics, published by Elsevier and edited by Editors-in-Chief A. Foster and K. Macours. It is highly selective: roughly 1,300 submissions a year, only about a quarter sent for review, and roughly 6-8% published. Submission is via Editorial Manager under single-anonymized review, with a USD 50 non-refundable submission fee for original manuscripts. JDE has three distinctive routes: a permanent pre-results review / Registered Reports track (run with BITSS), an AER: Insights-style short-paper limited-revision track, and a standard full-length track — plus a three-papers-per-author-per-12-months cap and a mandatory replication / Option C data-policy regime.

When to trigger

• The user asks "what should I do next?"
• The user hands over a draft and needs the current bottleneck diagnosed
• Work is ping-ponging between empirics, framing, writing, and response letters
• A JDE decision letter arrived and the user needs to switch into revision mode
• The user is deciding between the full-length, short-paper, and pre-results routes

Routing table

Current symptom	Next skill
Idea feels small / not clearly a development-economics contribution	jde-topic-selection
Contribution relative to the development literature is fuzzy	jde-literature-positioning
The "so what for development" is undersold or buried	jde-contribution-framing
Empirics rest on OLS + controls; causal claim undefended	jde-identification-strategy
Estimation, heterogeneity, attrition, or inference choices are shaky	jde-data-analysis
Tables are dense; paper is not figure-forward enough	jde-tables-figures
Prose buries the idea; abstract/intro do not land the question	jde-writing-style
Need the data/code deposit, or pre-empting referee replication	jde-replication-and-data-policy
Unsure how JDE review works (routes, timelines, single-anonymized)	jde-review-process
Ready to submit via Editorial Manager; need a preflight checklist	jde-submission
Received an R&R; need a response-letter strategy	jde-rebuttal

Default order

1. jde-topic-selection — lock a first-order development question
2. jde-literature-positioning — stake the contribution against the development frontier
3. jde-contribution-framing — make the development takeaway explicit
4. jde-identification-strategy — make the causal design credible in an LMIC setting
5. jde-data-analysis — estimation, heterogeneity, attrition, inference
6. jde-tables-figures — finalize figure-forward exhibits
7. jde-writing-style — polish prose (abstract + intro last)
8. jde-replication-and-data-policy — assemble the Mendeley Data deposit
9. jde-review-process — pick the right route and understand the pipeline
10. jde-submission — Editorial Manager preflight
11. jde-rebuttal — after the R&R

If your design is prospective, route to jde-review-process early — the pre-results review track reviews and accepts the design before results exist.

Worked routing example (illustrative)

A user arrives with a fielded cluster-randomized agricultural-extension trial, results in hand, and an unfocused draft. Diagnose the bottleneck before sequencing:

• The causal design is sound (randomized at the village level), so skip ahead of jde-identification-strategy except to confirm clustering and attrition.
• The draft reports coefficients but no development lesson → the live bottleneck is jde-contribution-framing, then jde-literature-positioning to stake the increment.
• Because the result is sharp and self-contained (~5,000 words, illustrative), flag the short-paper route early via jde-review-process so the team writes to the 6,000-word / 5-exhibit cap rather than over-building.
• Only after framing and identification settle should jde-tables-figures and jde-writing-style polish.

Stage-to-symptom quick map

Stage symptom	Route to
"Is this even a development paper?"	jde-topic-selection
"Results exist but the lesson is fuzzy"	jde-contribution-framing
"A referee will call the design weak"	jde-identification-strategy
"An R&R letter just arrived"	jde-rebuttal
"Design not yet fielded"	jde-review-process (pre-results)

Router output

【Current stage】topic / framing / identification / analysis / exhibits / writing / replication / review / submission / rebuttal
【Live bottleneck】one sentence
【Route now to】jde-<skill>
【Route candidate (full-length / short-paper / pre-results)】+ why
【Within 3-per-12-months cap?】[Y/N]

Anti-patterns

• Do not skip jde-contribution-framing — JDE referees judge the development contribution first
• Do not let jde-tables-figures polish exhibits while identification is still shaky
• Do not treat jde-replication-and-data-policy as optional — data/code can be requested at the review stage
• Do not submit a fourth paper inside a 12-month window — the cap is enforced