Editorial

Abstract

I am pleased to report that the transition of Australian Economic Papers (AEP) manuscript processing to ScholarOne ManuscriptsTM is fully completed with excellent support from Wiley in setting up the system. We are now in a position to easily track every submission through every step of the process. Authors can readily see the status of their submissions and are being provided with decisions in a timely manner. We are particularly grateful to all the reviewers who have generously donated their time. Their thorough and insightful comments have assisted authors to improve their papers before publication, and provided helpful guidance to authors whose papers were not accepted. I hereby acknowledge their support and contributions to AEP. With the increased scope of the journal, I would like to encourage all authors to submit their manuscripts to Australian Economic Papers for consideration. We are accepting high quality articles in the traditional economics disciplines as well as expanding the journal's focus to include the fields of banking and finance that use applied economics. We are pleased to announce the forthcoming International Conference on Asia-Pacific Economic & Financial Development, which will be held in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, from July 24–27, 2016. The conference was organised after considering a number of submissions for AEP from the Asian Region. This annual high-level conference aims to provide a forum for academics, policy makers and practitioners to share their knowledge and expertise on economic and financial development in the Asia-Pacific region. With the growth of Asian Capital Markets as its main theme, we hope the inaugural 2016 Conference will attract those with particular interests in the Asia-Pacific capital markets and financial integrations to make it an outstanding event benefiting people not only in regional countries but also other countries all over the world. The Conference will serve as an open and transnational collaborative platform for attendees to present their latest research and exchange ideas and information. In particular, the forum will cover important aspects such as financial cooperation, capital markets, derivative markets, regional economics and finance cooperation, corporate governance, financial planning, business ethics, accounting and reporting standards, and innovations in banking and finance, thereby allowing attendees from almost every field in accounting, banking, economics and finance to explore specific topics in depth and to network with colleagues who are experiencing similar situations or challenges. A special feature of this Conference will be a panel discussion session on promoting Asian research and publications. This session will be presented by a team of Managing Editors of internationally ranked refereed journals. The 2016 Conference will be supported by Australian Economic Papers. Founded in 1965 the journal is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2015. With a strong reputation for publishing quality papers from leading international economists in an exceptionally wide range of topics, the journal has a high impact factor and has been recognised by the Australian Business Dean's Council. Australian Economic Papers will release two special issues of the best publications presented at the forum under a guest co-editorship of Professor Quan Tran Ha Minh. The International Business School of the Ho Chi Minh University of Economics is proud to be hosting the inaugural Conference. The International Business School is located in the centre of Ho Chi Minh City in the south of Vietnam and is convenient to a number of tourist attractions. We sincerely hope you will have a memorable time and be richly rewarded from the conference and your visit to this important cultural, industrial and educational centre of Vietnam. For more information about the 2016 Asia-Pacific Economic & Financial Development Conference please check the AEP Journal Website: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/%28ISSN%291467-8454 We look forward to meeting you there.