The QJE is currently widely regarded as the top economics journal. It is also well-known for leading the trend towards "desk-rejections", where papers are rejected by the editors without sending them to external referees. This greatly speeds up the process for papers that are obviously not likely to pass the refereeing process. One of my roles at Ecological Economics as associate editor is giving advice about whether to desk reject papers and I think we are desk rejecting more over time.
I found this interview with the editor of the QJE that I thought had some useful tips about submitting papers to top journals. At Ecological Economics, sloppiness won't be an automatic desk reject if the paper looks interesting. We are more likely to throw out papers because the basic thesis makes no sense or the authors do not justify at all what they do. But really bad English that hinders understanding will result in a desk reject too. Unless your English is close to native speaker standard it is worth getting a native English speaker to look over your paper before submission whether for free or for a fee.
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