About the Journal

DESCRIPTION

The USFQ Economic Review is an academic journal that publishes outstanding undergraduate research in economics and related disciplines. This open-access, peer-reviewed, and electronic journal is managed by student editors from the School of Economics at Universidad San Francisco de Quito. Articles are published continuously in English and Spanish under the USFQ PRESS imprint.

The primary goal of this journal is to provide a platform for undergraduate students to share their research in economics-related fields, fostering a culture of rigorous and high-quality research early in their academic careers. Additionally, it aims to introduce students to the peer-review process, contributing to their development as researchers.

The journal focuses on publishing two formats: papers and short articles.

  • Papers: These are comprehensive, well-supported, and rigorous research works that undergo an extensive review process by the USFQ Economic Review Scientific Committee and Editorial Board. These papers include original research, in-depth analyses, or theoretical explorations that make significant contributions to the field of economics and related disciplines. They are aimed at readers seeking detailed and academically robust discussions that expand the boundaries of knowledge.
  • Short articles: These are concise and accessible texts offering quick insights, summaries of recent developments, or discussions of emerging trends in economics. They also undergo a rigorous review process to ensure academic quality. Short articles aim to bridge the gap between academic research and a broader audience, presenting complex topics in a clear and accessible manner while maintaining high academic standards.

Through these efforts, the USFQ Economic Review promotes the dissemination of innovative ideas and the early development of academic skills, reinforcing its commitment to excellence and high-quality research.

AUDIENCE

This journal is intended for (but not limited to) a specialized audience including economists, political science students and professors, librarians, and social science researchers.

EDITORIAL POLICIES

Peer Review Process

This journal follows a double-blind peer review process. All submissions are first evaluated by the Editorial Board to determine their relevance to the journal’s scope. Articles deemed suitable are then typically sent to at least two independent expert reviewers, who assess the scientific quality of the manuscript. The final decision to accept or reject a paper rests with the Editorial Board and is considered final. Editors do not take part in decisions about manuscripts they have authored, those written by close colleagues or family members, or those connected to products or services in which they have a competing interest. In such cases, the peer review process is managed entirely independently.

As part of the submission process, authors must include a Letter to the Editor briefly outlining the research question addressed, the article’s main contributions, key findings, and a short explanation of why the manuscript is a good fit for the journal.

Authorship

Before submitting their work, authors are expected to carefully review the list and order of all contributors. The list provided at the time of submission is considered final. All listed authors must have given their consent to appear on the submitted manuscript.

Any changes to the authorship—such as additions, removals, or rearrangements—may only be made after the manuscript has been accepted, and require approval from the Editor-in-Chief. To process such requests, the Editor will require:

  • A clear justification for the change in authorship.

  • Written confirmation (via email or letter) from all authors agreeing to the proposed modification.

  • In cases of addition or removal, confirmation must also be obtained from the author being added or removed.

The manuscript’s publication will be put on hold while the request is reviewed.

After the article has been accepted, changes to authorship will only be considered under exceptional circumstances. If the manuscript has already been published online, any approved changes will be reflected through a corrigendum.

Ethics in publishing

This editorial ethics statement applies to the senior editors, editor-in-chief, co-editors, editorial board members, scientific committee reviewers, and authors.

Manuscripts must be original, must not have been previously published, and must not be under consideration elsewhere. Plagiarism will not be tolerated.

The editorial team reserves the right to use specialized software to detect similarities between submitted manuscripts and existing literature. Fraudulent or knowingly inaccurate statements are unacceptable. Work and/or ideas from other sources must be properly cited or quoted. Authors must present their results clearly and honestly, without fabrication, falsification, or inappropriate data manipulation. The methods used must be described precisely and in sufficient detail to allow replication and verification by other researchers.

Open Access

USFQ Press is an open access publisher, and all its publications are freely available under Creative Commons licenses.

Manuscript Review

Once the editor receives the reviewers’ reports, the author will be notified about the status of the peer-review process and the editorial decision. The editor will decide whether a second round of peer review is necessary after the first set of revisions.

Upon the completion of each review round, an article will receive one of the following outcomes:

  • Accepted

  • Accepted with minor revision

  • Accepted with major revision

  • Rejected

Accepted papers will be published in the academic journal within one to two months after acceptance.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

Authors retain copyright and grant USFQ Economic Review the right of first publication under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial license (CC BY-NC 4.0), which allows others to share the work with proper acknowledgment of authorship and original publication in this journal.

PUBLICATION CRITERIA

The submission and subsequent publication of a manuscript imply that the work has not been previously published in English or any other language (except in the form of an abstract, a published lecture, or academic thesis). It must not be under consideration by any other journal. The publication must be approved by all authors and, either implicitly or explicitly, by the responsible authorities at the institution where the research was conducted. The work must have been completed during undergraduate studies. Submissions from graduate-level programs or faculty members will not be accepted. To verify originality, the manuscript will be scanned using Turnitin, an internet-based plagiarism detection service operated by Turnitin, LLC.

SUBMISSION PREPARATION

All submissions to this journal are made entirely online through the Submissions section of this website. Our submission system will guide you step by step through the process of entering the necessary publication details and uploading your files. If you have any questions regarding the submission process, please contact the Editorial Committee.

All submissions must be accompanied by a cover letter that includes a brief overview of the manuscript and the corresponding author's contact information, including full name, email address, phone number, and mailing address.

Before submitting a manuscript, please carefully read the Guide for Authors. As part of the submission process, authors must confirm that the following conditions are met. Submissions that do not comply will be returned.

  • The manuscript has not been published and is not currently under review by another journal (or an explanation has been provided to the Editor-in-Chief).

  • The research was conducted during undergraduate studies (including thesis work).

  • The file is in PDF or Word format.

  • The manuscript complies with all stylistic and bibliographic requirements outlined in the Guide for Authors.

Submission Checklist 

Use the following list to verify your submission before sending it to the journal. You should have read the Guide for Authors carefully before proceeding.

Make sure the following items are included:

  • The manuscript complies with all the guidelines specified in the Guide for Authors.

  • The contact information of the author(s), especially email addresses, has been provided.

  • All necessary files used in the research have been uploaded.

  • Keywords have been included.

  • All figures include relevant captions.

  • All tables include titles, descriptions, and footnotes if necessary.

  • All figure and table citations in the text match the submitted files.

Additional considerations:

  • The manuscript has been spell-checked and grammar-checked.

  • All references listed are cited in the text, and all in-text citations appear in the reference list.

  • Permission has been obtained for any copyrighted material used from other sources.