The Slowdown of the Economics Publishing Process

Abstract

Over the last three decades there has been a dramatic slowdown of the publication process at top economics journals. A substantial part is due to journals' requiring more extensive revisions. Various explanations are considered: democratization of the review process, increases in the complexity of papers, growth of the profession, and cost and benefit arguments. Changes in the profession are examined using time‐series data. Connections between these changes and the slowdown are examined using paper‐level data. There is evidence for some explanations, but most of the slowdown remains unexplained. Changes may reflect evolving social norms.