The Review of Financial Economics began in the fall of 1965 with the publication of the first issue of the Mississippi Valley Journal of Business and Economics. Jerry Simpson, then the Chair of the Department of Economics and Finance, was the founding editor. Dr. Simpson was a graduate of the University of Oklahoma and served on the faculties at the University of Kansas and Texas Christian University before he accepted a position at UNO in 1959.
Upon the death of Dr. Simpson in 1991, Terry Wilford assumed the editorship. Professor Wilford was the author of over 50 scholarly articles and a past president of the North American Economics and Finance Association. Prior to assuming the editorship, he served for 15 years as the chair of the Department of Economics and Finance at UNO. Professor Wilford edited the journal until his untimely death in 1994, at which time Gerald Whitney became editor. Tarun Mukherjee joined as co-editor in the fall of 1998.
The first issue (Mississippi Valley Journal of Business and Economics) included articles in the area of management science, accounting, economics, marketing, and management. As time went by, the percentage of submissions in the areas of economics and finance continued to increase. The journal was renamed the Review of Business and Economic Research in the fall of 1975 to reflect this trend. In the first issue under the new name, there was only one article whose subject was not in economics or finance. In 1991, Terry Wilford renamed the journal once again to reflect its finance emphasis. The Review of Business and Economic Research thus became the Review of Financial Economics.
From 1965 to 1994, the journal was the sole responsibility of the Division of Business and Economic Research, College of Business Administration, of Louisiana State University in New Orleans (now the University of New Orleans). In 1994 JAI Press took over publication of the journal. Elsevier Science became its publisher in the fall of 1998 when it acquired the JAI Press.
From the very beginning, the journal has been one of the most popular outlets for finance doctorates. Indeed, of 90 finance journals surveyed by Terry L. Zivney and William J. Bertin (``Publish or Perish: What the Competition is Really Doing,'' Journal of Finance, March 1992), the Review of Business and Economic Research was found to be the 11th most popular outlet for finance doctorates over a 30-year period. Many prominent scholars have published in this journal over the last 35 years of its rich history.
Since its inception through the first issue in 2001, a total of 464 articles have appeared in this journal. Of these, the number of articles written by two authors dominates with 206, followed closely by 198 single-authored articles. The number of articles written by three, four and five authors is respectively 50, 9, and 1. Below are the names of authors who have authored (co-authored) four or more articles in the journal:
| Number of articles | Name(s) of Author(s) |
|---|---|
| 8 | Theodor Kohers |
| 7 | Richard J. Cebula |
| Glenn V. Henderson Jr. | |
| Ronald W. Melicher | |
| Edward M. Miller | |
| 6 | Frank J. Fabozzi |
| Peter S. Rose | |
| 5 | Donald R. Fraser |
| Jeff Madura | |
| Myles S. Wallace | |
| 4 | James S. Ang |
| William P. Dukes | |
| Gary A. Giroux | |
| Badr E. Esmail | |
| Thomas H. McInish | |
| J. Wilson Mixon Jr. | |
| Robert A. Olsen | |
In terms of topics, investment-related articles dominate with 101, followed by corporate finance area with 74 articles. The number of articles in various areas of finance is approximately 300 (65%). In more recent years the number of submissions in finance consists of almost 90% of all submissions.
We are determined to build on the RFE's rich tradition and take it to an even higher level. During Spring 1999, we strengthened the journal's editorial board. The current board reflects the change in emphasis of the review – from a regional journal publishing articles across the business spectrum to an international journal with a focus on financial economics. The journal is well on its way to gaining a much broader audience: this is evidenced by a substantial increase in the number of submissions from authors abroad. The quality of submissions has always been high, but now is even higher and the upward trend continues. Our acceptance rate on the other hand has decreased over the years (currently about 15%).
Starting this year, we will be increasing the number of issues per year from two to three. Within a few years, we plan to increase the number of issues to four. At least one of the issues each year will be topic-specific and edited by renowned scholar(s) in the relevant topic. Below is a list of four special issues that are scheduled to appear during 2001–2003.
Finally, we thank Jennifer O'Sullivan, Patrick Stack, and Devrim Yaman for their many hours of hard work that made the Index Issue possible.
We are excited about the future of the Review of Financial Economics and look forward to receiving your continued support. In our quest to make the journal one of the best, please send us your comments and suggestions.
Sincerely,
Tarun K. Mukherjee & Gerald Whitney