City University of Macau’s Academic Research Quarterly Seminar 2025 was held on the morning of August 28, 2025 at the conference room G2213, Golden Dragon Campus. This seminar is organized by the Research Management Office, with this particular lecture organized by the Faculty of Finance, which invited Professor Tong Fu from Guizhou University as the keynote speaker. The theme of the seminar was “Research Strategies and Publication of Economics and Management Papers from the Perspective of an International Journal Editor”. The seminar was hosted by Associate Professor Li Weiping and a souvenir was presented by Professor Adrian Cheung, Dean of the Faculty of Finance.

Professor Fu is a doctoral advisor at Guizhou University and also supervises PhD students at the Australian National University. He serves as the Asia Regional Editor for Managerial and Decision Economics, Associate Editor for both the International Review of Financial Analysis and the International Review of Economics and Finance, and Guest Editor for Energy Economics and Tourism Economics. His research focuses on developing New Institutional Economics and Ethical Economics, with emphasis on economic development, corporate governance, and environmental regulation. He has published dozens of papers in prestigious international journals such as Annals of Tourism Research, Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, Ecological Economics, Energy Economics, Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, and International Review of Financial Analysis.

Base on his extensive experience reviewing a vast number of manuscripts, Professor Fu shared practical strategies for publishing in economics journals. He outlined a personal economic paradigm based on his editorial insights, guiding students on key aspects such as theoretical contribution, empirical analysis, and other critical considerations in academic writing. He repeatedly emphasized the importance of addressing endogeneity issues and focusing on a single influential factor to enhance the likelihood of publication.

Regarding submissions to SSCI-indexed economics journals, Professor Fu recommended targeting journals with high impact factors. He explained the quality expectations across Q1 to Q4 journal tiers and advised students to submit to the appropriate tier to improve their chances of acceptance. He suggested reviewing ten published articles from the target journal and only submitting if one's own paper surpasses at least nine of them in quality. He stressed that submissions should be made only when the paper is thoroughly prepared and the author is confident in its merit.

During the interactive Q&A, students eagerly sought advice on challenges encountered in their research journeys. Professor Fu responded thoughtfully to each question. One notable discussion centered on the search for instrumental variables, with students sharing experiences of trying 10 to 50 times. Professor Fu revealed that he had attempted up to 10,000 times to find suitable instruments, impressing attendees with his meticulous approach to research. His dedication served as a powerful lesson in academic rigor. The Faculty of Finance at City University of Macau sincerely thanks Professor Fu for his inspiring lecture and looks forward to the next session of the Academic Research Quarterly Seminar.