A2 Review article, Literature review, Systematic review
Journal of Economic Literature Codes Classification System (JEL) (2022)

Heikkilä, J. T. S. (2022). Journal of Economic Literature Codes Classification System (JEL). Knowledge Organization, 49(5), 352-370. https://doi.org/10.5771/0943-7444-2022-5-352

JYU authors or editors

Publication details

All authors or editors: Heikkilä, Jussi T. S.

Journal or series: Knowledge Organization

ISSN: 0943-7444

Publication year: 2022

Volume: 49

Issue number: 5

Pages range: 352-370

Publisher: Nomos Verlag

Publication country: Germany

Publication language: English

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5771/0943-7444-2022-5-352

Publication open access: Not open

Publication channel open access: 

Additional information: Reviews of Concepts in Knowledge Organization. Also published as:
Heikkilä, J. T. S. (2022). Journal of Economic Literature codes classification system (JEL). In B. Hjørland, & C. Gnoli (Eds.), ISKO Encyclopedia of Knowledge Organization (IEKO). International Society for Knowledge Organization. https://www.isko.org/cyclo/jel

Abstract

The Journal of Economic Literature codes classification system (JEL) published by the American Economic Association (AEA) is the de facto standard classification system for research literature in economics. The JEL classification system is used to classify articles, dissertations, books, book reviews, and working papers in EconLit, a database maintained by the AEA. Over time, it has evolved and extended to a system with over 850 subclasses. This paper reviews the history and development of the JEL classification system, describes the current version, and provides a selective overview of its uses and applications in research. The JEL codes classification system has been adopted by several publishers, and their instructions are reviewed. There are interesting avenues for future research as the JEL classification system has been surprisingly little used in existing bibliometric and scientometric research as well as in library classification systems.

Keywords: information management; classification; classification systems; classification schemes; economics

Contributing organizations

Ministry reporting: Yes

VIRTA submission year: 2022

JUFO rating: 2