Submission Guidelines

 1. SCOPE & SUBMISSION

The Philippine Review of Economics (PRE) welcomes theoretical or empirical articles on economics and economic development. Submissions focusing on the Philippines or other developing economies are encouraged. Book reviews are also accepted.

  • Language: Manuscripts must be written in English (US spelling).
  • Submission: Send electronic copies to pre.upd@up.edu.ph.
  • Fees: No submission, processing, or handling fees.
  • Originality: Submission implies the manuscript is not under consideration elsewhere.

 

 

2. REVIEW PROCESS

  • The Editor assigns manuscripts to members of the Editorial Board or external reviewers.
  • At least two reviews are conducted.
  • The Editor makes the final decision: accept, reject, or revise.

 

3. MANUSCRIPT LENGTH & FORMAT

  • Length: ~40 pages total, including all elements (6,000–8,000 words; absolute minimum: 4,000 words).
  • File format: MS Word (.doc or .docx) for text and embedded tables and figures; a separate MS Excel file containing all graphs and tables must also be submitted.
  • Paper size: US Letter (8.5” x 11”).
  • Spacing: 1.5-spaced throughout.
  • Font: 11-point serif font (e.g., Times New Roman).
  • Margins: Standard 1 inch (2.54 cm).
  • Alignment: Left-aligned (ragged right).

 

4. REQUIRED MANUSCRIPT ELEMENTS

  1. Title Page (separate first page)
    • Title (maximum 15 words).
    • Complete author names, affiliations, and email addresses in the first footnote.
    • Abstract (150–200 words). The Abstract should be comprehensible to readers before they have read the paper, and reference citations must be avoided. It is essential that the Abstract clearly states the focus and importance of the work described in the paper.
    • 4–6 keywords.
    • At least one JEL classification code (JEL list here).
  2. Main Text
  3. Acknowledgments (before References)
    • Format:

Acknowledgments: I thank [full names] for [specific contributions].

  1. References (see Section 11).
  2. Appendices (if any).
    • Supplementary material, large tables, additional figures.

 

5. HEADINGS

  • Numbered headings:
    • Main headings: 1. Heading
    • First subheading: 1.1. Subheading
    • Second subheading: 1.1.1. Sub-subheading
  • All headings are bold, left-aligned.
  • No special formatting except italics for emphasis.

 

6. FOOTNOTES

  • Numbered consecutively in the text.
  • Footnotes containing only references must be converted to in-text citations.

 

7. STYLE & USAGE

  • Spelling: US English.
  • Numbers: Spell out one to ten; use numerals for 11 and above. Numbers over 1,000 should use a comma as a separator.
  • Dates: Month day, year (e.g., August 12, 2025).
  • Punctuation: Use Oxford comma.
  • Percentages: Write “percent” (not “%”).
  • Currency: Use “₱” (not Php).
  • Acronyms: Spell out at first mention in main text, then use ALL CAPS with no periods (e.g., US, ASEAN).
  • Quotation marks: Periods go inside quotes, commas before closing quotes:
    • “...assumed.”
    • “...probability”,
  • Titles of works: Italicize in text (e.g., The Pure Theory of Public Expenditure).
  • Latin terms: Latin terms should be italicized
  • Percentage points: written as pp

 

 

8. QUOTATIONS

  • Short quotes: enclosed in quotation marks, incorporated into the text.
  • Long quotes (>40 words): indented, single-spaced, smaller font size, no quotation marks. Example:

...[T]he readily available labor supply [i.e., that which is measured by open unemployment—esd] represents only a very small proportion of the real waste of labor. A massive waste of labor—whether because labor is not utilized at all, or is utilized for only parts of the year, month, week, and day, or is utilized in an almost useless way, that is at a low level of productivity—is one of the obvious facts of economic life in the region. In the present context, the important point is that little of this slack in the labor force can be taken up by turning on the tap of aggregate demand. Underutilization of labor vastly exceeds the supply that could be mobilized by expansion in monetary demand [Myrdal 1968:999].

 

9. TABLES & FIGURES

  • Tables: embedded in Word, numbered consecutively, title above table, source below if applicable.
  • Figures: numbered consecutively, title above figure and source below figure.
  • Black & white readability: Ensure clarity without color.
  • Presentation of data in tables is preferred over graphs.
  • Submit separate Excel file with same tables/figures.

 

10. MATHEMATICAL CONTENT

  • Equations numbered consecutively in Arabic numerals, right-aligned.
  • All variables and symbols must be defined in the text.
  • Equations should be editable, in one line, and same font size as body text.
  • Font style of mathematical content
    • variables and constants: italics                       x, X, p/q, ax +b
    • numbers and numerals: normal                      2x, X1, f(0) = 0
    • function names: italics                                   g(x); f is increasing
    • mathematical operations: normal                   2 + x
    • vectors: lower case, bold or italics                 x or x
    • matrices: UPPER CASE, bold or italics        X’X-1 or X’X-1
    • set and relations: UPPER CASE italics         the set X; the relation R

 

 

11. REFERENCES

A reference list should be provided at the end of the article. All cited works should be included, and no un-cited works should be included. References should be arranged alphabetically by author. Works by the same author should be arranged by second author, then by date. Works by the same authors in the same year should be cited as “2010a” and “2010b”. 

In-text citation formats

  • Dela Cruz [2018]
  • Dela Cruz [2018; 2019]
  • [Dela Cruz 2018]
  • [Dela Cruz and Bautista 2018:24–35]
  • (Dela Cruz and Bautista [2018]; Solomon et al. [2019])
  • Dela Cruz [1976(1776):15]
  • [Republic Act No. 10667, sec. 14(b)(2)]

Reference list examples

  • Journal:
    Azevedo, V. and C. Bouillon [2010] “Intergenerational social mobility in Latin America: a review of existing evidence”, Revista de Analisis Economico 25(2):7–42.
  • Paper/Manuscript:
    Bachmann, R., P. Bechara, and S. Schaffner [2012] “Wage inequality and wage mobility in Europe”, Ruhr Economic Papers (386).
  • Book:
    Samuelson, P.A. [1947] Foundations of economic analysis. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press.
  • Institutional publication:
  1. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) [1992] Technology and the economy: the key relationships. Paris.
  2. World Bank (WB) and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) [2017] A step ahead: competition policy for shared prosperity and inclusive growth. Washington, D.C.
  • Report/Statistics:
    London School of Economics [2006] “The Depression Report: A New Deal for Depression and Anxiety Disorders” , Mental Health Policy Group, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE, London.
  • Online News article:
  1. Casilao, J. [2024] "Farmers File Petition vs. EO Lowering Tariff for Rice" GMA News Online, July 8. https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/money/economy/912210/farmers-file-petition-vs-eo-lowering-tariff-for-rice/story/.
  2. GMA News Online [2024] "Farmers File Petition vs. EO Lowering Tariff for Rice", July 8. https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/money/economy/912210/farmers-file-petition-vs-eo-lowering-tariff-for-rice/story/.
  • Edited books:
  • Balisacan, A.M. and H. Hill (eds.) [2007] The dynamics of regional development: the Philippines in East Asia. Cheltenham, Edward Elgar.
  • Magazine article:
  1. Smith, J. [2026]. "The Future of Urban Housing" The Economist, March 25. URL.
  2. The Economist [2026] "The World's Most Unaffordable Housing Is Not Where You Think." March 25. https://www.economist.com/asia/2026/03/25/the-worlds-most-unaffordable-housing-is-not-where-you-think.