About the Journal

Currently in its 42nd year of publication, Essays in Economic & Business History (EEBH) was first published in 1976, and has been published annually since 1983. Since 2012, EEBH has been an on-line open access journal. A print version of the journal was published until 2019, but since 2020 EEBH has been published on-line only. Articles are selected by double-blind review process. EEBH provides immediate open access to accepted articles as soon as the editorial process is completed on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge.

EEBH (ISSN 2376-9459 online) is listed by Cabell’s International directory, the Directory of Open Access Journals, the AEA’s EconLit, EBSCO’s Historical Abstracts, and is ranked as a '2' in the 2024 version of the UK’s Chartered Association of Business Schools’ Academic Journal Guide and as a ‘B’ in the 2022 Australian Business Deans Council (ABDC) Journal Quality List.

Emeritus Editors

James H. Soltow, 1976-1983 (volumes 1 and 2)
Edwin J. Perkins, 1984-1993 (volumes 3-12)
William R. Childs, 1994-1998 (volumes 13-17)
Michael V. Namorato, 1999-2003 (volumes 18-22)
David O. Whitten, 2004-2006 (volumes 22-24)
Lynne Pierson Doti, 2007-2009 (volumes 25-27)
Janice M. Traflet, 2010-2012 (volumes 28-30)
Jason E. Taylor, 2013-2018 (volumes 31-36)
Daniel C. Giedeman, 2019-2023 (volumes 37-41)
Mark Billings, 2019-2024 (volumes 37-42)

Aims and Scope

While Economic History and Business History are two distinct disciplines, their similarities are stronger than their differences. Since 1975 the Economic & Business History Society has brought scholars from these two fields together through its annual meetings and through the society’s journal, Essays in Economic & Business History. EEBH aims to publish high-quality research from all areas of economic and business history, including articles in related disciplines such as financial, labor, management, organizational, and social history. We welcome both empirical and non-empirical research, as well as pieces that, despite their high level of scholarship, may not fit nicely into the usual boxes valued by other outlets in economic or business history. We welcome submissions from scholars at all career stages. Authors are invited to contact the editor to discuss potential submissions if they are unsure whether they would fit with the journal.

Open Access & Copyright

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

  • Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
  • Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
  • Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work.

 

EEBH makes no article processing (APCs) or submission charges.

Review Policy

New submissions to the journal are reviewed by the editor to ensure that they align with the journal's aims and scope (see above) and have a reasonable prospect of acceptance.  A little over one-third of submissions are rejected at this stage. Papers which pass this initial stage are subject to a 'double-blind' review process in which the editor seeks at least two reviews on each submission from expert independent reviewers. The reviewers do not know the identity of the author(s), nor does the author(s) know the identity of the reviewers. We strive to get back to authors with an initial decision within 8 to 10 weeks of submission. Approximately half of papers sent to reviewers are subsequently published in the journal, usually after revisions reflecting the feedback of the reviewers and editor. Acceptance rates inevitably fluctuate from year to year, but our long-term (2012 to 2023) average acceptance rate (proportion of submissions published) is 32%.

In order to maintain academic integrity, we reserve the right to run papers through a plagiarism screening software prior to their being sent to reviewers.

Review Guidelines

We ask reviewers to identify the strengths and weaknesses of submissions and make suggestions as to what the author(s) can do to improve their papers. We also ask for an overall recommendation—publish with minor revisions, publish only if the author(s) can satisfactorily make the suggested changes, or reject because the paper has too many fundamental flaws.