Top Five Journals in Economics

The Top Five Journals in Economics are the five academic journals that are considered to be the most prestigious journals in economics. The journals in question are The American Economic Review, Econometrica, the Journal of Political Economy, the Quarterly Journal of Economics, and the Review of Economic Studies. Many universities consider publications in top five journals to be an important factor in tenure decisions.

In a study published in Journal of Economic Perspectives, James Heckman and Sidharth Moktan found that a substantial share of influential publications appear in outlets other than top five journals. The authors therefore argue that reliance on the top give journals to screen talent ``incentivizes careerism over creativity''.