economictheoriespro.com

Neoclassical Growth Theory for a Small Open Economy • A Meta-Theory of the Demand for Money and the Theory of Utility • Contact Us

As the title modestly suggests, I set up this site to be a readily-accessible archive of my work in economics. The papers in the menu, above, are not working papers but ones which are in the process of acceptance (or rejection!) from published journals.

How hard is it to get a paper published? You just come up with an amazing new theory, whack it down on paper and send it off to all the journals, right? Wrong.

First up, your paper can only be considered by one journal at a time.

Second, the editor assigned to your paper rejects half to two-thirds without sending them out to external referees. Do editors know every area of economics inside-out? Take a guess!

Third, you've gotta pay! For the outstanding service they offer, you can reckon between $75-200 per submission in economics. Want to test out something a bit whacky? That'll be a grand, please!

Fourth, they don't just publish anyone! You've got to be like them. They've accepted the status quo, so why shouldn't you? If you're not at a university, preferably a good one, you don't exist.

Fifth, they are the boss! They don't have to give reasons. You're lucky if they tell you that it does not fit with their personal tastes for the journal.

Last up, "...there are many other journals. We recommend that you send it to one of these". This means they've taken your submission fee and can't be bothered reading your paper because they don't know your name.

"I will not go for a doctorate, because it would be of little help to me, and the whole comedy has become boring." Albert Einstein, January 22, 1903.

Albert Einstein's Dissertation Comedy

1905 has been called the "miracle year" due to Albert Einstein racking up break-throughs in physics quicker than he could publish them. It was also the year of his doctorate. He submitted one of his papers, The Theory of Relativity, and it was rejected. This was already his third attempt, two prior to that also having been rejected.

Einstein realised the conservatism of his professors and "played it safe" with a nice experimental paper with lots of complicated maths and no novel theories. This suited them better but they still rejected it for being too short. Apparently, he added one sentence, resubmitted it and it was accepted. It took him five years to get his doctorate.

For more on Einstein check out: Einstein 1905: The Standard of Greatness by John S. Rigden