ISSN 2222-3436 online version

INSTRUCTIONS TO AUTHORS

• Scope and policy
• Form and preparation of manuscripts
• Manuscripts submission

The South African Journal of Economic and Management Sciences (SAJEMS) is a leading publication for interdisciplinary research in economic and management sciences, with a special focus on the African continent. SAJEMS publishes and disseminates academic articles that contribute to the understanding of African markets and the behaviour of economic agents operating in those markets, including consumers, firms and regulators.  In addition to applied research on African markets and market participants, the editorial board invites authors to submit interdisciplinary research that breaks down common intellectual silos and prepares a new path for debate on the operation, regulation and development of markets in and around Africa.

The intended audience of this journal is academics in the economics and management fields.

SAJEMS is a refereed scientific journal and is accredited by Thomson Reuters in their Social Sciences Citation Index and by the South African Department of Higher Education and Training.

All submissions are to be written in English.  Authors need to upload their anonymous manuscript with an abstract of no than 135 words as well as the relevant JEL Classification System classification number and keywords. The author(s), their institutional affiliations, and the contact details of the corresponding author should be entered when registering on the website. 

Submission of a manuscript confirms that the research was conducted by the listed author(s), and is not under consideration at any other journal.  SAJEMS condones neither plagiarism nor the infringement of copyright. 

Submission fee
A submission fee of R400 (VAT inclusive) is payable upon submission of a manuscript by authors from South African institutions and US$55 by authors from foreign institutions. The manuscript will only be considered for review once proof of payment has been received.  An official invoice can be issued or payment can be made directly to the University of Pretoria: ABSA Bank Hatfield branch, acc no 2140000038, Ref: A9373-3501 SAJEMS submission fees and your name.

Publication fee
Once the paper has been accepted for publication, a R2 000 publication fee is payable to cover text editing and layout fees.  An official invoice can be issued or payment can be made directly to the University of Pretoria as set out under Submission fee above.

Types of manuscript
In line with the mission of SAJEMS, the purpose of the journal is to publish economic and management science research, preferably of an interdisciplinary nature, maintaining a focus on the operation, regulation and development of markets in and around Africa, including trading partners.  The following types of papers will be considered for publication: original research, new perspectives on previous research and research notes.  Original research should be empirical, theoretical or experimental and should not exceed 7 000 words including figures, tables, references, and other necessary items.  New perspectives on previous research should also not exceed 7 000 words.  A summary of the literature does not constitute a new perspective on previous research.

All manuscripts are subjected to a double-blind reviewing process handled by the editorial board.  The review processing time varies by article, but it can take up to a year for a paper to be published.

Format of manuscript
Authors of accepted papers are asked to place their article into the journal's format, after which it is text edited by SAJEMS' language consultants.  Edited papers are returned to the author(s) for approval.  We ask authors to submit the accepted text edited version within three days, following which, it is sent to the layout specialist.

Any thanks, acknowledgements or other considerations should be placed in a final section of the paper. The heading of the section should be "Acknowledgements".

Endnotes are to be used, and not footnotes.  These should be numbered sequentially and placed immediately following the text of the manuscript. 

Tables should be self-explanatory, i.e., a reader should be able to understand the table without reading the article. They should be numbered consecutively throughout the manuscript.  Notes immediately following the table should explain any symbols or other useful information to the reader.  The source of the table and any software used should be listed.  Avoid using variable names; but rather short clear descriptions.

Figures should be self-explanatory and numbered consecutively throughout the manuscript.  Notes describing the figure should be included immediately below the figure, and should include the source and software used. 

Equations should be numbered consecutively, and those numbers should appear to the right of the equation.  Theorems, lemmas, corollaries and proofs should also be numbered consecutively; however, we prefer that proofs be relegated to the appendix, in order to maintain the flow of the manuscript.

Referencing should follow the Harvard referencing system.  For details, please see the formatting example on the SAJEMS website. 

Uploading papers
When you have signed on, you will see your role as author.  When you click on that you will see the option of uploading a new submission.  Under Journal Section, choose the article  option and click that you accept ALL the conditions or you won't be allowed to go to the next step.  Then press save and continue, upload the title and abstract, again press save and continue. Then upload the paper - make sure that you click upload, otherwise it will not be on the web - and finally click save and continue  (as it is unlikely you will have supplementary data files) and finish submission.

Peer review process

All manuscripts are subjected to a double-blind reviewing process handled by the editorial board. 

Authors are required to upload their papers anonymously online and pay a R400 submission before the paper is sent for review.

Submission of a manuscript confirms that the research was conducted by the listed author(s), and is not under consideration at any other journal.  SAJEMS condones neither plagiarism nor the infringement of copyright.