Peer review

The review process is fundamental. Every article sent to the International Review of Economic Policy that is approved by the members of the editorial board is submitted to a double-blind peer review with the aim of guaranteeing the publication’s superior quality.

Blind review plays a vital role in carrying out and spreading any research. The care and attention and, ultimately, the quality with which the assessment is performed is essential to the process of improving the quality of IREP. If the review process is to be carried out as successfully as possible, the reviewer must be unbiased in his/her judgment, knowledgeable in the subject matter of the article and able to construct and express his/her comments carefully in such a way that they are of use to the authors when it comes to improving their articles.

The International Review of Economic Policy assesses every original piece received after peer review. The article will be sent to two outside reviewers, independent of the review’s publishing body, and at the end of the review, the reviewer must clearly state whether the article is approved for publication, approved with revisions or rejected. If no agreement is reached between the two reviewers, it will be sent to a third who will be the one to make the final decision on whether to publish or reject the article.

All of the reviewers may avail themselves of some public assessment criteria available on this platform. The decision to accept or reject a piece of work will be based on what is set out in these criteria.  

Confidentiality during and after the review. IREP uses the double-blind system to review articles. This means that, at no moment are the authors aware of who has reviewed their articles and neither are the reviewers aware of the identity of the authors of the article. The reviewers will assess the article confidentially and in total anonymity; in such a way they feel at ease to review the article truthfully and impartially free of any fear that their actions may affect their academic and professional career.

The content of the articles must not be used, cited or included in any piece of work by the reviewers until the article has been reviewed and published. Until that moment, any type of information related to the articles must be treated as confidential and must not be used for any purpose that is not a part of the review process itself. The reviewers must not share the following with anyone other than their coordinator: the results of the article, the comments and observations of the reviewer and the discussions that have taken place at the end of the review regarding whether to publish or not. The confidential nature of that information must be respected, even when the review process has finished.