Field Guide
Top Economics & Management Journals
Journals for economics, management theory, organizational research, and business-school scholarship. This guide covers 2 journals with impact factors, acceptance rates, review timelines, and open access costs - everything you need to choose the right venue for your research.
Journal Comparison Table
| Journal | Tier | Impact Factor | Acceptance Rate | Review Time | Open Access |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Academy of Management Perspectives AMP | Top Tier | 6.9 | ~10-20% | ~6-12 weeks | See details |
| Tourism Management | Strong Option | 14.5 | Highly selective Elsevier tourism journal | Editorial screening first; peer review after theory and method fit | See details |
Found your target journal - now check if your manuscript is ready
Most desk rejections come down to scope and framing, not the science itself. Start with the Free Readiness Scan to check your manuscript against what economics & management editors actually look for before you commit to a submission.
Start with the Free Readiness Scan. Unlock the Full Review from $39, with local pricing shown before checkout. If you need deeper submission planning, choose the Submission-Ready Dossier.
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Tier 1 journals in this cluster require a field-level contribution. AER needs cross-subfield economics relevance; AMR needs a genuinely new management-theory argument.
Tier 2 journals are usually better when the work is excellent but more field-specific, empirical, or practitioner-facing than the flagship expects.
Tier 3 journals can still be strong homes when the paper is narrower, methods-forward, or better suited to a specialized audience.
Publishing in Economics & Management
Economics and management journals often reject strong papers because the manuscript is aimed at the wrong kind of contribution. AER wants broad economics consequence across subfields. AMR wants theory development in management and organizations, not empirical testing. The submission decision is therefore less about prestige alone and more about whether the paper's evidence, theory move, and reader audience match the journal family.
Guidance by Career Stage
🎓 Graduate Students
Use elite economics and management journals only when the senior author and evidence base justify the risk. A wrong flagship target can cost months.
🔬 Postdocs
Make the contribution class unmistakable in the abstract and first pages: cross-subfield economics for AER, theory development for AMR.
👨🔬 Principal Investigators
Build a deliberate venue ladder. Treat AER, AMR, AEJ-family, AMJ, Annals, Discoveries, and Perspectives as distinct routes rather than interchangeable prestige labels.
⏱️ Review Timelines
Desk decisions can be relatively fast when the contribution class is wrong. Peer-reviewed submissions commonly take months, especially when reviewers ask for new theory framing, robustness work, or substantial restructuring.
🔓 Open Access & Costs
Many economics and management flagships remain subscription or society-published journals with separate policies for fees, accepted manuscripts, and open access. Confirm the journal-specific policy before submission.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- ✕Submitting a subfield economics paper to AER without a cross-subfield case
- ✕Submitting empirical management research to AMR instead of AMJ
- ✕Treating literature organization as theory development
- ✕Using the cover letter to summarize the paper instead of resolving the fit decision
Frequently Asked Questions
When is AER the right target?
AER is strongest when the manuscript speaks to economists across multiple subfields and the contribution is not only a specialist extension.
When is AMR the right target?
AMR is the right target for theory-development manuscripts in management and organizations. Empirical work belongs elsewhere, usually AMJ.
What is the most common fit mistake?
Authors choose the highest-prestige journal before deciding the contribution type. The better sequence is contribution type first, journal family second, prestige third.
Detailed Journal Guides
Latest Journal-Specific Guides in This Field
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Related Resources
Ready to submit? Check your manuscript first.
Start with the Free Readiness Scan to review your scope, significance framing, methods, and literature coverage against economics & management journal standards before you submit.
Start with the Free Readiness Scan. Unlock the Full Review from $39, with local pricing shown before checkout. If you need deeper submission planning, choose the Submission-Ready Dossier.
Anthropic Privacy Partner. Zero-retention manuscript processing.
Run my Free Readiness Scan →