Editorial Policies

POLICY ON STATISTICAL REPORTING

Feminist Economics editorial policy requires that discussions of statistical results report standard errors; t-statistics or p-values should not be used to substitute for standard errors. This policy is to make it easier for readers to construct confidence intervals. The policy accords with the view that statistical significance cannot be interpreted without information on sample size. When presenting test statistics that go beyond the standard regression output, authors are asked to include a note in the table or text that briefly interprets the test statistic results.

The policy also requires that comments on statistical results address the economic importance of results. Statistical significance should therefore be addressed only in the context of sample size and the economic meaningfulness of a coefficient. For example, as is well known, a coefficient can be statistically significantly different from zero but so close to zero that the statistical significance may be of little relevance. Articles should therefore emphasize the economic importance of variables in the context of confidence intervals rather than statistical significance.

To implement this policy and improve the communication of empirical research findings, we strongly encourage authors to consult the following article:

Miller, Jane E. and Yana van der Meulen Rodgers. 2008. "Economic Importance and Statistical Significance: Guidelines for Communicating Empirical Research." Feminist Economics 14(2): 117-49.

POLICY ON ORIENTING PAPERS FOR AN INTERNATIONAL AUDIENCE

Feminist Economics is an international journal, with over half of its readers and institutional subscribers living outside the US. It is therefore important that papers be oriented to a broad international audience rather than to just the audience of any specific country. Although US-oriented articles are overwhelmingly the most common form of inappropriately oriented articles, the points that follow apply to articles oriented to the audience of any other specific country or region. Papers are not appropriately oriented to an international audience in the following circumstances:

  • Authors assume that people from all over the world should be interested in a particular country's economic phenomena, without either arguing why or framing the issues in the context of broader feminist economic concerns. At a minimum, correcting this problem requires rewriting the introduction and conclusion.
  • Authors treat a phenomenon as though a particular country's experience is universal. Often the assumption is subtle and implicit and might be acceptable for a paper in a national journal, but is not appropriate for an international journal. Articles are culturally biased if they do not recognize that the experience of a particular country is not necessarily the world's experience.
  • Authors refer to a phenomenon in a particular country without explicitly noting that it is a country-specific phenomenon or that a particular country's version of the phenomenon might not be the same elsewhere. Examples: references to statistics, patterns, or phenomena without appropriate modifications, e.g. "the labor force participation rate" or the "national goal" etc. In all such cases, modifications referring to the particular country are needed.
  • Authors assume that people all over the world have heard of an organization or law in a country and do not explain the law or organization appropriately for an international audience.
  • Authors provide an overview of the relevant literature on their topic, referring solely to contributions from one geographical region (e.g. North America). This approach may not be acceptable to an international audience, particularly where there have been significant contributions from other geographical regions, or if the issue under discussion is not primarily or solely concerned with that region or country.

A useful way to revise a paper for an international audience is to imagine oneself as a reader from another country and then to revise the paper appropriately.

POLICY ON PAPERS USING INFORMATION FROM HUMAN PARTICIPANTS

Feminist Economics encourages the use of ethnographic data and personal interviews to shed light on important economic issues and assumptions. It is Feminist Economics policy to protect the human participants from the release of any personal information that renders them easily identifiable. This may include specific demographic data like name, age, race, and gender, as well as non-demographic data such as place of work, description of distinguishing physical characteristics, and personal history.

Though specific laws and practices of representation and ethics vary from country to country, the privacy and safety of participants should be carefully considered regardless of the place of scholarship. The responsibility for identifying and following the appropriate code of ethics lies with the author.

In an effort to aid authors in their project, we ask that all papers dealing with human participants (either in interviews, through the use of ethnographic data, or through participant or non-participant observation) include one of the following two statements at the end of the manuscript:

  • All personal information that would allow the identification of any person or person(s) described in the article has been removed.

           OR

  • I confirm that the person(s) identified in this contribution has(ve) given permission for personal information to be published in Feminist Economics.

For additional information on human subjects policies in the US, authors may consult the following website:http://grants2.nih.gov/grants/policy/hs/

For additional information on human subjects policies in Canada, authors may consult the following website: http://www.pre.ethics.gc.ca/eng/policy-politique/initiatives/tcps2-eptc2/Default/.

Questions, concerns, or suggestions regarding this policy can be sent to feministeconomics@rice.edu, +1 (713) 348-4083 by phone, or +1 (713) 348-5495 by fax.

CONDITIONS OF SUBMISSION

Submission of a paper constitutes a representation and warranty to IAFFE that the paper presents original unpublished work not under consideration for publication elsewhere. On acceptance of a paper by Feminist Economics for publication, the authors agree that the exclusive rights to reproduce and distribute the paper have been given to IAFFE.

In submitting a paper to Feminist Economics, the submitting author represents and warrants to IAFFE that all necessary permissions of all named co-authors have been secured, the order of the names for publication has been agreed upon by all co-authors, and that the paper is free of defamatory, libelous or fraudulent content.

Permission to quote from or reproduce copyrighted material contained in any paper for publication by Feminist Economics beyond "fair use", as defined by US copyright law, must be obtained by the authors before submisssion. Any acknowledgments should be included in the typescript paper. Where photographs or figures are reproduced, acknowledgment of source and copyright should be given a caption.