The German Journal of Agricultural Economics (GJAE):

The German Journal of Agricultural Economics is an open-access journal. This means all content can be accessed immediately after publication free of charge. Authors retain copyright and all content can be reused unrestrictedly according to the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0. Preprints (pre-review manuscripts), post prints (authors accepted manuscripts, AAM), and the version of record (VoR) can be deposited without restrictions.

Please find further information on license and copyright on the page Submissions.

Step 1: the manuscript undergoes a formal check by the editorial team, including a plagiarism check.
Step 2: the editor in charge will evaluate whether the manuscript fits within the specific journal’s publishing profile and meets basic standards of quality. Desk rejections are based on dual control among the editors.
Step 3: If the manuscript passes the preliminary editorial review, it is sent to two independent reviewers who are experts in their field and familiar with the actual topic. The review is double-blind, i.e., anonymity of reviewers and authors is ensured.
Peers and editors are not remunerated for their work on behalf of the journal. In case of diverging reviewer recommendations, the editor in charge may consult editorial board members or further reviewers.
Step 4: The final decision regarding acceptance/revision/rejection will we made by the editor in charge. The first decision can be expected 3 months after manuscript submission, unless the process of recruiting qualified reviewers would be delayed.

Data policy

Replicability and reproducibility of research denote a cornerstone in the scientific system. They enable the validation of published results, and therethrough creates confidence in the reliability, robustness and generalisability of scientific findings. Replicability and reproducibility also promote scientific progress by fostering the discovery of new evidence, expanding our understanding of economic problems and challenging existing theories or findings.Replicability and reproducibility of research denote a cornerstone in the scientific system. They enable the validation of published results, and therethrough creates confidence in the reliability, robustness and generalisability of scientific findings. Replicability and reproducibility also promote scientific progress by fostering the discovery of new evidence, expanding our understanding of economic problems and challenging existing theories or findings.

For these reasons, GJAE is committed to open science, replication research and the FAIR (findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable) principles for research data. This means that (i) a data availability statement is a requirement for papers published in the GJAE, (ii) GJAE expects authors to make data available in GJAE Data Repository at the ZBW – Leibniz Information Centre for Economics’ Journal Data Archive whenever legally and ethically feasible, and (iii) expects authors to make program code, software, etc. openly available using replication packages that are archived in the GJAE Data Repository at the ZBW – Leibniz Information Centre for Economics Journal Data Archive.

Data Availability Statement

Data availability statements confirm the presence or absence of shared data, are short and standardized to inform readers about the availability of the data used in the research process. For this purpose, the GJAE is offering a template.

The data availability statement should mention any restrictions on accessing the data. If the data is restricted (third-party data, legal or ethical constraints), this must be explained in the data availability statement. In addition, authors are asked to provide detailed information on how other researchers can obtain the restricted data in their readme-file (see below). In this case, we encourage authors to provide synthetic data sets that mimic the original data for testing the code.

Authors that have employed empirical methods and data will receive an invitation email by the GJAE Data Repository at the Journal Data Archive (send to [journaldata at zbw dot eu]) to deposit their data if legally and ethically feasible, and if these data not stored prior to the submission in a comparable repository. This will happen in the final step of the publication process.

It is generally not acceptable that data be provided “upon request” if the request must be approved by the authors themselves.

Data Citation

In recognition of the relevance of data as an output of research effort, GJAE endorses the FORCE11 Data Citation Principles. Therefore, authors are asked to cite the data in the same way as article, book and web citations and include data citations as part of their reference list.

When citing or making claims based on data, authors should refer to the data at the relevant place in the manuscript text and in addition provide a formal citation in the reference list. We recommend the format proposed by the Joint Declaration of Data Citation Principles:

[dataset] Authors; Year; Dataset title; Data repository or archive; Version (if any); Persistent identifier (e.g. DOI)

Replication Packages

We expect all our authors of accepted papers that contain empirical work, simulations, or experimental work to provide information about the data, programs, and other details of the computations sufficient to permit computational reproduction. Data, programs and other relevant material should be archived in the GJAE Data Repository at the ZBW – Leibniz Information Centre for Economics’ Journal Data Archive, if legally and ethically possible.

Data and Variables

Data should be provided as part of the replication package unless the exceptions for restricted data apply (see above) or unless they can be fully reproduced from other accessible data within a reasonable time frame and with reasonable resources.

Each variable in the provided datasets should have a meaningful name or description (label), or authors may provide separate codebooks or similar metadata that describe the allowed values and their meaning. It is also possible to refer to publicly accessible documents that fulfil this purpose.

Readme-file

All replication packages must include a “Read me” file (clearly labelled) containing a list of all files included and guiding a user on the types of files and how to use them to do replication.
If necessary, you will find detailed instructions on how to create a readme file here.

Program Code

Programs that produce computational results such as estimation, simulation, model solution must be included. Ideally, these programs reproduce all the computational exhibits in the paper with minimal human intervention.

A master script is encouraged. When no master script is included, please provide sufficient and precise step-by-step instructions in your readme file, allowing users to exactly reproduce the generated outputs with the least amount of effort.

Experimental Instructions and Surveys

Details regarding experimental procedures and instructions, and questionnaires are necessary to evaluate submissions of experimental research and research based on primary data collection. This information is also important to facilitate replicability and related work by subsequent researchers. Authors of experimental and survey-based papers must include detailed experimental instructions, along with screen shots for computerized experiments or record sheets for non-computerized ones, or the questionnaire. These instructions, questionnaires and related materials should be provided in the replication package. In cases where the instructions and materials were not presented to participants in English, both the original version and an English translation of materials shall be provided.

Further information

• A step by step guide on how to make your data submission a success can be found here: https://aeadataeditor.github.io/aea-de-guidance/
• Detailed guidance on creating a readme file is available here

All content published in the journal is archived in the long-term preservation archive Rosetta. Rosetta is maintained by ZBW – Leibniz Information Centre Economics in cooperation with the German TIB (Hannover) and ZBMED (Cologne/Bonn).

Publication ethics can be found here.

TIB Open Publishing plans to become a COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics) member. Therefore, OCP subscribes to the COPE’s Code of Conduct and Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors as well as the Ethical Guidelines for Peer Reviewers as best practice.

The GJAE uses Cossref’s Similarity Check to detect plagiarism in the submitted manuscripts. It is up to the editors to decide whether any manuscript is rejected because of plagiarism.

Competing interest, also known as conflicts of interest (COIs), arise when issues outside research may fairly be viewed as impacting the work’s neutrality or the objectivity of it’s assessment. This can happen at any point of the research cycle. Competing interest include

Financial: funding and other payments, goods and services received or expected by the authors relating to the subject of the work or from an organization with an interest in the outcome of the work
Affiliations: being employed by, on the advisory board for, or a member of an organization with an interest in the outcome of the work
Intellectual property: patents or trademarks owned by someone or their organization
Personal: friends, family, relationships, and other close personal connections
Ideology: beliefs or activism, for example, political or religious, relevant to the work
Academic: competitors or someone whose work is critiqued Competing interests do not necessarily prevent the publication of research, or prohibit the participation of someone in the review process. However, competing interests do need to be recorded. A straightforward explanation of all potential issues – whether they have had an impact or not – helps to make informed judgements about the research and its review.
Handling of misconduct

There are two distinct circumstances to be noted: misconduct (i.e. serious scientific fraud such as data fabrication, falsification, or plagiarism) and honest errors. Errors may be due to inattentiveness (e.g. mistake in methods) and are not to be regarded as misconduct. DEA Panel will follow the COPE flowcharts in cases of suspected or proven misconduct. The GJAE will take steps to correct the scientific record if it considers clear proof of misconduct.

Please find further information on post-publication corrections on the page Submissions.

Any complaints should be directed to the editors.

Any opinions expressed and information presented in the GJAE are the views of the authors and not of the editors or TIB Open Publishing. The publication of contributions does not constitute endorsement or approval by the journal and/or its publisher. The GJAE and TIB Open Publishing cannot be held responsible for any errors or for any consequences arising from the use of the information contained in this series. While every effort is made by the editors to make sure that no erroneous or false data, view, or statement is published in this journal, TIB Open Publishing and the editors accept no liability of any kind for the consequences of any such inaccurate or misleading data, information, opinion, or statement.

From 2024 onwards, the journal is financed by the Gesellschaft für Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaften des Landbaues (GEWISOLA), the ZBW – Leibniz-Information Centre Economics and an international financing consortium for Diamond Open Access, the consortium Open Library Economics ejournals.