International Journal of Game Theory is devoted to game theory and its applications. It publishes original research making significant contributions from a methodological, conceptual or mathematical point of view. Survey articles may also be considered if especially useful for the field.

Changes in the editorial structure of the IJGT

(Announcement to editors, reviewers, and authors of the IJGT by Shmuel Zamir, December 2008)

Dear Colleagues:

As you know, I have taken over the reins of the International Journal of Game Theory (IJGT) from William Thomson.

William served as editor in chief of the journal from 2003 to 2008. On behalf of all of us, I would like to express our sincere thanks and appreciation to William for his excellent management of and devotion to the journal.

Now, let me turn to updates about the journal. First, I am pleased to report that two of last year’s Nobel laureates (Eric Maskin and Roger Myerson) have agreed to serve on the journal’s Advisory board.

Second, we will miss from this respectable list Michael Maschler, who passed away in July 2008. To honor his contributions to our subject, Salvador Barbera has undertaken the task of editing a special issue of the journal in honor of Michael.

Third, so as to expand both the scope and the volume of the journal, I am happy to be accompanied by my two co-editors Rakesh Vohra and Bernhard von Stengel, who agreed to share the load with me for the welfare of the journal.

Fourth, as is usual, there have been changes in the Editorial Board. In particular, it reflects the expanded scope of the journal (including greater emphasis on the interface with computer science, biology, and experimental economics). I would like to welcome and thank the new members for agreeing to serve and offer my gratitude to the retiring members for their service and valuable contributions to the journal.

Fifth, the journal has moved to an electronic online editorial system. The change, I know, is irksome, but there are some distinct advantages in the ability to track and monitor the many papers in various stages of the pipeline. I hope that I can count on your patience and support as we work around the technical inconveniences and design flaws with the help of the software support team. The editorial process will be as follows:

  • A submitted manuscript is assigned to one of the three editors (editor-in-chief and two co-editors).
  • The editor in charge assigns the manuscript to an (anonymous) associate editor.
  • The associate editor, together with referees of his or her choice, passes a recommendation to the editor in charge.
  • The editor in charge makes the final decision and communicates it directly to the submitting author.

Sixth, I would like to introduce Romina Goldman, who will be the managing editor. Amongst Romina’s tasks are logging and tracking submissions as well as assisting authors, reviewers, and editors with questions about the system.

A first, and modest goal, is to exploit the electronic editorial system to control and considerably shorten the handling time of the manuscripts without compromising the quality of the editorial work and of the published papers. I count on your support as well as that of the game theory community from which we draw the most important components of our work, good papers and good reviews.