Economics uses the referencing system suggested by the Canadian Journal of Economics. This system is similar to Chicago style, but contains several stylistic differences, as listed in their style guide (pdf).
This style uses a combination of footnotes and parenthetical in-text citations. If you only briefly reference a source in your paper, cite with an-text citation; if you use a source more extensively or need to clarify information, use footnotes.
In-Text Citations for CJE Style
- CJE uses an author-date parenthetical in-text citation style
- As noted above, use in-text citations only when a source is briefly referenced; for more extensively-referenced sources, use footnotes - see Chicago style.
- Include the author’s last name and the year of publication. Do not put a comma in between the name and the date.
- E.g., (Arvin 2005)
- When citing a source with two or three authors use the word “and” between the words.
- E.g., (Head and Reiss 2001)
- When making an in-text citation to a source with more than three authors, list the first author’s last name followed by "et al."
- E.g., (Walker et al. 2008)
- If you are quoting or citing a specific section of a source, add the page number preceded by a comma.
- E.g., (Feenstra, Markusen, and Rose 2001, 431)
References Page for CJE Style
General Guidelines
- Title the page "References" - left aligned and boldface
- List all works cited in-text and in footnotes in alphabetical order
- Double space and use a hanging indent (first line is left justified; subsequent lines are indented)
- There is no punctuation at the end of a reference
Formatting Guidelines
Author names
- The first names of authors are generally spelled out, but initials are acceptable as long you are consistent
- First author is listed with surname first; subsequent authors are listed with first name/initials first
- Separate names with a comma
Titles
- Put titles of books and journals in italics; do not end with punctuation
- Put titles of articles and chapters in single quotation marks and follow by a comma within the quotation marks.
Enclose publication date and publisher information in parentheses.
Examples
A few common examples are provided below; for other sources, apply the above-listed modifications to the source-specific examples included in the Chicago style guide.
Book with One Author
Dixit, Avinash K., and Victor Norman (1980) Theory of International Trade (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press)
Chapter/Article in an Edited Book
Choudhary, Saud (1997) 'Women workers in the global factory: Impact of gender power asymmetires,' in The Political Economy of Globalization, ed. Satya Gupta, 215-234 (Norwell, MA: Kluwer Academic Press)
Article in Journal
Cater, Bruce, Byron Lew, and Barry Smith (2008) 'A theory of tenure-track contracts,' Education Economics 16, 203—218
Updated June 2023