Editor's report.

From January 1, 2002, through December 31, 2002, the Editorial Office received 244 new manuscript submissions. The following table lists the time in the editorial process for the 215 manuscripts submitted during 2002 for which the authors received a first decision by March 31, 2003.

Time from Receipt of Manuscript to Notification of Author:

Months    Percentage of Submissions

 0-3               60.5%
 3-4               14.4%
 4-5                8.4%
 5-6                6.5%
 6-9                6.9%
 9+                 3.3%

At their April 2003 meeting, the Board of Trustees of the Southern Economic Association named two new co-editors for terms beginning July 1, 2003. They are Professor Julie Hotchkiss of Georgia State University (currently on leave at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta) and Professor Dek Terrell of Louisiana State University. Professor Kent Kimbrough of Duke University continues to serve as a co-editor. The three co-editors will be working with the new editor, Professor Laura Razzolini of the University of Mississippi, to continue to improve the Journal.

On behalf of the Association, I thank Professor Robert Margo of Vanderbilt University and Professor Thomas Stratmann of George Mason University for their service as co-editors for the past two years.

The Board of Trustees also named the following new associate editors for terms beginning July 1, 2003:

Christopher R. Bollinger, University of Kentucky 

William A. Darity, Jr., University of North Carolina

Douglas D. Davis, Virginia Commonwealth University 

Amy Farmer, University of Arkansas 

Jonathan H. Hamilton, University of Florida 

Christopher L. Hanes, SUNY Binghamton

Robert A. Margo, Vanderbilt University

Paul Pecorino, University of Alabama 

Pietro Peretto, Duke University

David Ribar, George Washington University 

William Shughart II, University of Mississippi

Thomas Stratmann, George Mason University

On behalf of my fellow co-editors, we thank the Board of Associate Editors and our many referees for their help in our editorial tasks.

Effective August 1, 2003, the editorial office moved to the University of Mississippi. All new manuscripts should be sent to:

Professor Laura Razzolini, Editor

Southern Economic Journal

Department of Economics

University of Mississippi

Holman Hall 373/P.O. Box 1848

University, MS 38677-1848, USA

Office Phone: [phone]

Office Fax: [phone]

E-mail: [e-mail]

In 2004, JSTOR (www.jstor.com) will include the Southern Economic Journal in its database of economics journals. All but the most recent three years will be accessible. In addition to wider distribution of back issues, this will make it easy for faculty to assign students articles for classes without going through the permissions process.

As I step down after six and one-half years as editor, there are many people to whom I owe a considerable debt of gratitude. First of all, I wish to thank the Board of Trustees of the Southern Economic Association for giving me the opportunity, for offering their guidance on a variety of issues, and for supporting me enthusiastically in my work. Next, I thank all the co-editors who served with me (Kevin Grief, Kathy Hayes, Kent Kimbrough, Robert Margo, David Papell, and Thomas Stratmann). Each of them shared my vision for the Journal and worked hard to provide timely service to our contributors. I also thank the associate editors of the past seven years who have continually been a source of great support for me and the co-editors.

Once a year, we thank referees by name. I would like to thank all of them again as I step down. Refereeing may be the least rewarding task in our profession, but the service provided to editors and authors is invaluable.

I also wish to thank my editorial assistant, Lisa Jelks, who has worked with me since December 1996. Lisa brought with her a wealth of knowledge on how to run an editorial office and quickly instituted an efficient manuscript tracing system. Much of the credit for fast turnaround time on manuscripts belongs to her. The Journal's authors know how carefully she read through every accepted manuscript checking for internal consistency in references and style. The quality of the layout of tables and figures has been due to her care and concern for detail. Most of all, I want to thank her for her tireless efforts for the Journal over almost seven years. Her diligence, patience, and professionalism made my job both much easier and much more enjoyable. The Board of Trustees joins me in recognizing Lisa for her devoted service.

Let me close with my appreciation to everyone who has helped me during my editorship.

Jonathan H. Hamilton

Editor, Southern Economic Journal

January 1997-July 2003