The Journal of Development Economics(JDE) now offers authors the opportunity to have their prospective empirical projects reviewed and approved for publication before the empirical results are known. This pre-results review track for submissions is based on a two-stage peer review process.
In Stage 1, authors submit a proposal that includes an introduction, methods, and data analysis plan for a prospective study (see the optional Stage 1 submission template to learn more). High-quality studies are accepted based on pre-results review, which constitutes a commitment by the JDE to publish the upcoming paper, regardless of the results. Authors can then collect and analyze the data and submit a full paper for final review and publication (Stage 2). Stage 2 review makes sure that the final paper is aligned with the research design accepted in Stage 1.
The Stage 1 submission template can be downloaded here.