VoxEU submission guidelines: publishing policy commentary with CEPR

Takeaways

• VoxEU is CEPR's economics policy portal, founded in 2007 by Richard Baldwin. The Editor-in-Chief commissions most columns directly, although some unsolicited contributions are considered.
• The published guidance asks for a short description of the proposed column and its research foundation, along with affiliations, economics credentials or relevant experience, and an author webpage. A finished draft is not part of the pitch.
• CEPR's research network numbers close to 2,000 fellows and affiliates, largely based in European universities. That sets the editorial bar at a research-based argument.
• The official page sets out no universal word count, formatting rule, payment policy, or review deadline. Treat all four as open questions to confirm with the editor.
• A VoxEU column is free to read, which does not make it free to reproduce in full. Copyright and republication conditions apply.

1. Introduction

Every week, economists finish a paper, a dataset, or a policy analysis and wonder whether it belongs on a platform like VoxEU. The instinct is usually right; the execution often goes wrong. Authors send complete 3,000-word drafts, a one-line email asking whether VoxEU is interested, or a pitch that reads like an op-ed when the editor wants a summary of evidence.

The problem is fit. VoxEU sits between academic publication and general-interest commentary, and its submission process reflects that position. The VoxEU submission guidelines are deliberately light on formatting rules and heavy on one requirement: you must show that there is research underneath the argument.

This article explains how the process works, what the official guidance asks for, how to assemble a pitch that survives a first read, and how VoxEU compares with other routes for policy commentary. It also flags the things the guidelines do not specify, because knowing where the published rules stop is part of working with any editorially controlled outlet.

2. What VoxEU is and who it publishes

The Centre for Economic Policy Research runs VoxEU as its economics policy portal. Richard Baldwin founded it in 2007, and it reaches economists in academia, government, business, and the media, as well as students. The current About VoxEU page names Antonio Fatás as Editor-in-Chief; Baldwin is documented as the founder, and his role should not be conflated with the present editorship. Editorial roles change over time, so check the live page before addressing a pitch.

One disambiguation is worth getting right. This is the European Centre for Economic Policy Research, not the similarly abbreviated US-based Center for Economic and Policy Research. Authors who mix the two in a cover note signal that they have not checked where they are sending their work.

The byline sample gives the clearest indication of the editorial bar. A September 2026 VoxEU column credits Kalina Manova, Dennis Novy, Thomas Sampson, and Aaron Tang, with biographies supplied on the article itself. Manova, Novy, and Sampson are established academic economists, and the typical contributor can point to a body of work behind the argument.

CEPR's own research pages describe a network of nearly 2,000 fellows and affiliates, largely in European universities. When an editor at a network that size receives a pitch, the first question is usually why this author, and why now.

Before writing anything, answer three questions in one sentence each. What is the evidence base? Why are you the person to interpret it? Why does the argument matter to a policy audience this month?

3. What the submission guidelines require

According to the official About VoxEU page, a prospective author should send a short description of the column and its research foundation. The page also asks for current and former affiliations, economics qualifications or relevant experience, and an author webpage. It explicitly allows some unsolicited columns but promises no response.

The submission route is the article-idea or submission email link on the official page. The retrieved copy of that page masks the address, which is a useful reminder: never guess or reconstruct an editorial email address. Use the link as published.

The table below maps those components onto a real pitch.

Two gaps in that list stand out. Nothing asks for a full draft, and nothing asks for a writing sample. The guidelines ask you to demonstrate that the research exists and that you are credible, then let the editor decide.

The same page establishes no universal word count, font or formatting rule, payment policy, or review deadline. When one of those is decisive for you, as it is when you need a decision inside a fixed window, raise the question in your initial message instead of assuming a default.

4. How to build the pitch: a practical walkthrough

A workable pitch takes a few hours, and the sequence matters more than the prose.

Step 1: confirm the fit. Ask whether the core claim rests on evidence you or your co-authors produced. If the honest answer is that it rests on professional judgment, VoxEU is likely the wrong venue. CEPR's research context makes the point plainly: a research-based pitch establishes its underlying evidence.

Step 2: identify the single research anchor. Choose one paper, one dataset, or one natural experiment. Multi-paper pitches dilute the message and force the editor to guess which result carries the argument.

Step 3: draft the description in plain economics. State the question, the finding, and the policy implication, in that order. Avoid hedging language that obscures the result. An editor scanning a short description is looking for a claim they can summarise in a sentence.

Step 4: write the credibility block. Affiliations past and present, qualifications or relevant experience, and the author webpage. Keep it factual and short; verified biographies on published columns usually run a few lines.

Step 5: send through the published channel and stop. Because the Editor-in-Chief commissions most columns, a non-response is a normal outcome and repeated follow-ups will not change it. VoxEU's own page promises no reply.

Three typical author situations:

• An early-career researcher with a job-market paper. The research anchor is strong; name recognition is not. Lean on the finding and its policy relevance, and let the author webpage do the credibility work. Avoid padding the pitch with conference presentations.
• A central bank or ministry economist. The institutional affiliation helps, but the employer's house view may constrain the argument. Write the pitch in a personal capacity, note the affiliation honestly, and make clear the column represents your own analysis.
• A team with a multi-country dataset. Lead with coverage, time span, and what the cross-country variation allows you to identify, then name the author who will write the piece.

Common failure modes: sending a full draft where a description was requested; pitching a topic where a finding belongs; omitting the author webpage; and using a generic address in place of the submission link on the official page.

5. Where VoxEU fits: comparing policy commentary routes

CEPR's portal is one route among several, and the right one depends on how finished your research is, how fast the topic moves, and what you need the publication to do for you.

VoxEU rewards finished research with a policy edge, working papers reward completeness, journals reward durability, and technology-focused outlets such as Global Tech Observatory reward topicality in a narrower domain. Many economists use more than one route in sequence: a working paper first, then policy commentary, then a longer journal version.

6. Rights, review, and what the guidelines do not specify

Read the copyright terms before you pitch.

VoxEU columns are freely readable, and free readability is not free reproduction. Copyright and republication conditions apply; a column being online does not make it available for full reprinting elsewhere. If your institution, funder, or an aggregator wants to republish the piece, check the terms and ask.

Four items are absent from the published guidance: a universal word count, a font or formatting rule, a payment policy, and a review deadline. The reason is structural. A mostly commissioned outlet settles length and treatment in conversation between author and editor once a piece is accepted in principle.

Because the retrieved version of the About VoxEU page masks the submission address, always work from the live official page. Editorial contacts, named editors, and policies change, and a cached copy of any submission guideline is a starting point. The live page governs.

7. FAQ

Q1. Can I submit an unsolicited column to VoxEU?

Some unsolicited contributions are considered. The official guidance states that the Editor-in-Chief commissions most VoxEU columns directly, so an unsolicited pitch is possible but competitive. The page promises no response, so treat silence as a pass.

Q2. What exactly should I send in a VoxEU pitch?

A short description of the column and its research foundation, your current and former affiliations, your economics qualifications or relevant experience, and a link to an author webpage. Send it through the article-idea or submission link on the official About VoxEU page. Do not send a full draft unless an editor asks for one.

Q3. Does VoxEU have a word limit, and does it pay contributors?

The published guidance establishes no universal word count and no payment policy. If either point is decisive for you, ask directly in your initial message. Length and treatment are usually agreed after a column is accepted in principle.

Q4. Can I republish my VoxEU column somewhere else?

Copyright and republication conditions apply, and a freely readable column is not free to reproduce in full. Confirm the terms before agreeing to any secondary publication.

8. Conclusion

The VoxEU submission guidelines are short enough to be read in a few minutes and precise enough to filter most unsuitable pitches. The test they encode is simple: is there research here, and is this author positioned to explain it to a policy audience?

If the answer is yes, the pitch is a short description of the evidence and its implication, supported by affiliations, credentials, and a verifiable author page, sent through the published submission link. Where the answer is no, a general-interest outlet or a technology-policy platform may be the better first stop while the underlying work matures.

Editorial policies, named editors, and copyright terms shift over time. Treat the official About VoxEU page as the authoritative source, check it before each pitch instead of relying on a saved copy, and plan for the possibility that no reply arrives.