Dr. Pfau and Dr. Woerheide are on task in our May/June issue to discuss the value of the Journal of Personal Finance, how it connects to the nonacademic professional and differs from the Register. Perhaps the place to start is a brief categorization of the functions and style of each publication.
The Register as a trade publication reviews industry trends, introduces new products or explains different points of view. Geared more toward the practitioner in financial services, the articles are less formal, less technical and typically by a single author. Shorter in length, they are accompanied by industry related graphics and photos and are more loosely organized.
The Journal of Personal Finance as an academic offering brings together research by scholars on a particular methodology
or theory. Aimed at academicians in the field, it includes a bibliography composed
of scholarly references. More formal than
a trade publication, it almost always includes an abstract. The publication a
