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SPECIAL ISSUES

SPECIAL REPLICATION ISSUE: Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES)

JCRE is hosting a special issue dedicated to replications of high-quality empirical research on Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES). Submissions are open through January 31, 2027, with papers published on a rolling basis as they complete review.

PES programs compensate landowners, farmers, and communities for managing land and resources in ways that generate environmental benefits — conserving forests, protecting watersheds, reducing carbon emissions, and preserving biodiversity. Over the past two decades, a substantial body of empirical work has examined the effectiveness of these programs, and this research has become influential in both academic and policy circles.

This special issue asks a fundamental scientific question: how robust is that evidence base? We invite researchers to conduct rigorous, structured replications of important PES papers, contributing to the credibility and transparency of environmental economics research.

Who Should Submit

We welcome submissions from all researchers, but especially PhD students and early career researchers. Authors do not need to be domain specialists in ecosystem services — strong applied econometric skills and experience working with data are the primary qualifications.

This is an excellent opportunity to:

  • Gain a peer-reviewed publication with a fast-track review process
  • Build and demonstrate applied econometrics and data management skills
  • Contribute to the growing replication science movement in economics
  • Engage with an active network of researchers in environmental and natural resource economics

Replication Protocol

Submissions should follow JCRE’s replication guidelines, available here: https://jcr-econ.org/submissions/#replications.

In addition, replications are encouraged to include:

  • Pre-registration of analytical decisions prior to conducting the replication
  • Specification curve analysis to document how results vary across reasonable alternative modeling choices, including sample definitions, estimator selection, and standard error clustering
  • Full documentation of all deviations from the original paper’s approach, with justification

If replicators wish to pre-register their analyses, they are encouraged to publicly post their pre-registration plans on a research platform such as the Open Science Framework (OSF).

Resources for Replicators

To assist replicators, we provide the following materials here:

  • Main instructions for replicators (process, expected outputs, and submission requirements)
  • Editable template for preparing replication documentation
  • Example of a completed replication report
  • Example of a pre-analysis plan (PAP)
  • Metadata sheet for recording replication details and status

The README.md file in the GitHub repository provides instructions on how replicators should proceed with these documents.

Authors are encouraged to contact the guest editors before beginning work to confirm paper selection and discuss protocol fit.

Candidate Papers

We have assembled a curated, rank-ordered list of PES papers that meet our quality standards and have accessible replication packages. The list is available here and includes PDF locations and links to replication repositories.

Authors may also propose papers not on the curated list, subject to approval by the guest editors. Please contact us before beginning work on a paper not on the list.

Review Process

Submitted replications will be reviewed in-house by the guest editorial team. This accelerated review model is designed to shorten the time from submission to publication. Original authors of replicated papers will be given the opportunity to respond to replications before final publication.

How to Submit

Submissions should be made through the JCRE submission system. Please indicate “PES Special Issue” in your cover letter.

Before submitting, authors should contact the guest editors to confirm paper selection and discuss the replication protocol.

For questions about paper selection, the protocol, or fit for this special issue, contact:

Submit via JCRE submission system →

Guest Editors