Instructions for authors

THE AUTHORS' ATTENTION!

Requirements for the articles submited for publication in the scientific-analytical  journal "Economic Reforms" of the Center for Analysis of Economic Reforms and Communication:

  • The structure of the presented articles should be in accordance with the generally accepted standards and requirements set by the High Attestation Commission under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan;
  • Manuscripts should be based on original scientific research and should clearly present a research problem, a well-justified methodology, reliable data sources, and the authors’ independent empirical analysis. Manuscripts submitted to the journal  must not be under consideration for publication or evaluation by another journal;
  • A manuscript should clearly present the research problem, methodology, scholarly rationale, and findings. Findings should be based on data, appropriate analytical methods, and empirical evidence, rather than solely on general observations or theoretical discussion;
  • The manuscript should clearly demonstrate its scientific novelty, theoretical and practical significance, while ensuring transparency and verifiability of the data and methods used;
    Manuscripts must comply with the principles of academic integrity and publication ethics. Fabricated or falsified data, results, or references must not be used;
  • Artificial intelligence (AI) tools must not replace the authors’ scientific reasoning, independent analysis, interpretation, or conclusions. AI-generated text, analysis, or findings must not be presented as the authors’ own scientific work;
  • AI tools may be used for translation, language and technical editing, and assistance in preparing graphical or visual materials;
  • Use A4 page size (210 mm × 297 mm), page margins should be: top and bottom: 2.5 cm; left and right: 2.5 cm;
  • Manuscript must be submitted in a .doc/.docx format (Microsoft Word) and arranged in one column. Use single line spacing between lines and Times New Roman, 12-point font type for all text, except for the manuscript title (14 pt). Use 6-point paragraph spacing before and after in the whole manuscript;
  • Use impersonal mode when writing (avoid using words like “we”, “our”, “us”);
  • Title of article not more than 12 words (Author's (-s') name, patronymic, surname, scientific degree and scientific name, name of organization in which it works, position, ORCID number, e-mail address and telephone numbers are shown in sequence). Article titles should be formatted using sentence case;
  • List all affiliations (each in a separate line) according to the list of order of authors. Write authors’ affiliations using 10-point  Times New Roman font. Set paragraph space 6 point before and after each line. Corresponding author should be marked by adding an asterisk (*); 
  • Authorship should be limited to individuals who have made a substantial contribution to the conception, conduct, analysis, interpretation, or preparation of the research and manuscript. All listed authors must approve the final version of the manuscript and agree to its submission and publication. Individuals who do not meet authorship criteria should not be listed as authors and may be acknowledged where appropriate.;
  • Abstract may have a maximum of 250 words. Abstract should be written as a continuous text that consists of one paragraph only. Abstract should not have any special headings (Goals, Results…), while references should be avoided. Also, nonstandard or uncommon abbreviations should be avoided, but if essential, they must be defined at their first mention in the abstract itself;. 
  • The author must provide a list of five keywords indicating the most important topics or frameworks discussed in the article and specify the article’s JEL code;
  • Put keywords in new line after abstract and list up 4-6 keywords. Separate keywords with a comma (,). Keywords not overlapping with those used in the manuscript title are
    recommended. Don’t use any special symbols or abbreviations as keywords; 
  • The recommended length for Original Research Articles, Review Articles, and Case Studies published in the journal is a minimum of 3,500 words and a maximum of 8,000 words. Short Communications should not exceed 3,000 words, while Book Reviews should not exceed 2,000 words;
  • References are formatted according to the APA 7th edition guidelines. Please ensure that every reference cited in the text is also present in the reference list (and vice versa). Unpublished results and personal correspondence are not recommended as references, but may be mentioned in the text. Citation of a reference as ‘in press’ implies that the item has been accepted for publication;
  • At the end of the article (after the list of references), in addition to the written language, abstract and keywords should be given in Azerbaijani;
  • Self-citations should be used only when scientifically relevant and justified by the content and continuity of the research. The selection and number of citations should be based on scholarly necessity and an objective representation of the relevant literature;  . 
  • Authors should include only reliable and relevant sources that are appropriate to the subject and scholarly purpose of the manuscript.  Articles previously published in the journal should be cited only when they are scientifically relevant and necessary for the research.
  • "Economic Reforms"  has adopted a double blind peer review policy, where both the referee and the author remain anonymous throughout the process;
  • The article may be accepted for publication based on the positive evaluations of two reviewers appointed by the journal. If one reviewer provides a positive evaluation while the other gives a negative evaluation, the article may be submitted to a third reviewer for a final decision. Two positive reviews are one of the essential conditions for the acceptance of an article; however, the final decision rests with the editor;
  • In a volume of the journal, more than one article from the author(s) may not be published;
  • Articles can be published in three languages - Azerbaijani, English and Russian;
  • The manuscript must provide accurate information on authorship, institutional affiliations, funding, and conflicts of interest;
  • Published articles are not reprinted. Plagiarism, fabrication or falsification of data, duplicate publication, and simultaneous submission to multiple journals are not permitted;
  • Authors bear full responsibility for the content of their manuscripts, the accuracy of the data, the reliability of references, and the validity and justification of the research findings;
  • Articles that do not meet these requirements will not be published and manuscripts of published articles will not be returned;
  • The Journal of Economic Reforms is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0). The Journal of Economic Reforms allows to users to copy, distribute and transmit an article, adapt the article as long as the author is attributed and the article is not used for commercial purposes. Manuscripts are evaluated in accordance with the journal’s policies on peer review, authorship, copyright, open access, and publication ethics.

The following layout is assumed
1. Title of the paper.
2.First and last name of the Author(s).
3.Affiliation.
4. The abstract of the paper 
5. Keywords – up to 6 keywords should be quoted, useful for indexation and search terms. We recommend that the words used in the title should not be repeated as keywords.
6. JEL Classification 
7. Main body of text of the scientific paper should include: an introduction featuring research objective and hypothesis, literature review, materials and methods, results, discussion, conclusions and literature. 

8. The following information should be included at the end of the manuscript:
- Acknowledgements (if applicable);
- Conflict of Interest Statement;
- Funding Statement;
- Data Availability Statement.

9. Manuscripts that do not meet the journal’s standards of scientific quality and publication ethics, lack adequate empirical analysis, or fail to demonstrate an independent scientific contribution by the authors will be returned to the authors and will not be considered for publication.