Who should be the corresponding author?
Choose based on three factors: who will handle communication (usually the most responsive person), who will remain accessible for post-publication queries (avoid people about to change affiliations), and — critically — whose affiliation triggers APC waiver eligibility. Naming a co-author from a high-income country as corresponding can remove a waiver worth thousands of dollars, even when the research and all other authors sit in an eligible country.
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The waiver factor
At Wiley, Taylor & Francis, Springer Nature, Sage, Oxford, and Cambridge, the corresponding author's affiliation determines waiver eligibility. If a Ghanaian first author (100% waiver eligible) names a US collaborator as corresponding, the waiver is lost. This is the biggest financial decision hidden inside author selection.
Practical priorities
Usually the person who will handle administration reliably — often a mid-career researcher, not the student who did the work. Check they will not change email addresses or leave the institution in the next 12 months (papers can generate queries for years).
Multiple corresponding authors option
If two people share responsibility, list both. Journals increasingly accept this. But note: only one affiliation typically drives waiver eligibility (check the publisher's rule).
Do not confuse with first or last authorship
The corresponding author does not need to be first or last. In practice, senior authors often take this role because they are more institutionally stable. But nothing prevents naming a PhD student as corresponding — just consider whether they'll be reachable in three years.