The Ranking of Economics Journals by the Economic Society of Australia*

This paper describes how, in response to a government request, the Economic Society of Australia (ESA) prepared a ranking of economics journals for use in Australia. ESA commissioned the writer to manage the process and it was agreed that the journal ranking should be based on a survey of all professors of economics and econometrics employed in Australian universities. Following the development of the rankings, Heads of Economics Departments were asked in a follow-up survey whether they viewed the process and the results as acceptable or whether amendments should be made. ESA concluded, as does this paper, that the process and the results were credible and generally accepted and that the findings should not be altered on an "ad hoc" piecemeal basis. ESA also concluded that any revision of these rankings should be based on a similar transparent process of consultation with the profession. Details of the rankings of the journals surveyed can be found on the ESA website. Copyright (c) 2009 The Economic Society of Australia.