Submission Strategies, Referees, and Awards

Abstract

The number of papers submitted to AER has increased substantially over time, resulting in a decrease in the acceptance rate from 22 per cent in 1953 to 6.4 per cent in 2009. This increasing number of submissions requires a large referee pool, which in turn augments the incentive to reward referees. Using a sample of 676 referees (from 2007 to 2009), we find that those from leading institutions or with a better individual performance history are more likely to receive the AER Excellence in Refereeing Award, while being female and young reduces the probability of award reception. Receiving such an award also increases the probability of publishing in AER at a later stage. Nevertheless, referees, as opposed to board members and coeditors, are minimally published in AER (only 1.42 per cent).