Journal profile · DEVELOPMENT STUDIES
Area Development and Policy
ISSN 2379-2949 · eISSN 2379-2957 · Taylor & Francis
Area Development and Policy: CAS Zone 3 · Economics (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 2.4 (journal website); JCR Q2 (journal website); hybrid open access; APC charged, amount not published; median 262 days to acceptance (51 articles, last 24 months); acceptance rate 13% (journal website); 29 articles in 2025; indexed in ESCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Area Development and Policy is published by Taylor & Francis and is in Zone 3 of Economics in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Regional Economics and Spatial Analysis, China's Socioeconomic Reforms and Governance and Global trade and economics, together about 20.8% of its articles. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Area Development and Policy ( ADP) publishes high quality, original academic research examining the economic, political, cultural and geographical contexts which play a fundamental role in shaping and developing regions, cities and rural areas. ADP concentrates on issues relating to developing and emerging economies and welcomes submissions from all major world regions. ADP places an emphasis on research which examines the role of diverse institutional configurations and values at both national and regional levels within developing and emerging economies and believes that theories should derive from the experiences of these countries and regions and not necessarily from the (possibly exceptional) experiences of, in particular, Western Europe and North America. ADP is dedicated to expanding common ground while accepting differences, improving mutual communication and increasing cooperation and shared learning. To be accepted, a paper must adhere to a high standard of scholarship and make an important and original contribution to this field.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): DEVELOPMENT STUDIES
Editor-in-chief Shenjing HEPublisher website
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named Hong Kong, China 2, United Kingdom 1, India 1, Singapore 1, South Africa 1 (6 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Regional Economics and Spatial AnalysisEconomics, Econometrics and Finance7.6%
- China's Socioeconomic Reforms and GovernanceSocial Sciences6.8%
- Global trade and economicsEconomics, Econometrics and Finance6.5%
- International Development and AidSocial Sciences6.5%
- Housing, Finance, and NeoliberalismEconomics, Econometrics and Finance6.3%
- Urban and Rural Development ChallengesSocial Sciences5.7%
- Regional resilience and developmentEconomics, Econometrics and Finance5.7%
- Global trade, sustainability, and social impactBusiness, Management and Accounting5.2%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Economics Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Economics | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Development Studies | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Economics Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Economics | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Development Studies | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
JCR / CiteScore quartiles on the journal's website
- JCR Q2 · best quartile · 2025
- CiteScore Q1 · 2025
Publisher-reported: JCR figures are Clarivate's and CiteScore figures Scopus's to confirm; both are a different system from the CAS zones.Publisher website
Database indexing
ESCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
GeobasePublisher website
As the journal's website lists them, not checked against each database; for Web of Science editions the records above apply.
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 2.4Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 2.6Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 4.6LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 4.6Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.71LetPub ·
- SJR (publisher) 2025
- 0.71Publisher website ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.31LetPub ·
- SNIP (publisher) 2025
- 1.31Publisher website ·
- h-index
- 34OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 108OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 2.81OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 8.3%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 13.43%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 25LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher)
- 80,000Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 299 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 25 | 8 | 6 |
| 2025 | 29 | 7 | 39 |
| 2024 | 27 | 14 | 183 |
| 2023 | 23 | 6 | 161 |
| 2022 | 32 | 12 | 387 |
| 2021 | 27 | 4 | 423 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
Review time from article dates manuscript dates registered with Crossref · to
262 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 166 days – 368 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 50 days (52 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 311 days
- Sample
- 51 articles with submission and acceptance dates (57 in the window); the latest was accepted on
Only articles that were accepted and published are counted, not the time spent on rejected manuscripts, so this usually runs longer than a publisher's "time to first decision".
Other sources
- Acceptance rate (publisher)
- 13%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 20 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 69 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 53 daysPublisher website ·
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Hybrid open accessLetPub
A subscription journal in which authors can pay to publish their article open access.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Publisher website | Yes, amount not published | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteOpen access, Peer review
- Open access Open access
Area Development and Policy is a hybrid open access journal that is part of the Taylor & Francis Open Select publishing program, giving you the option to publish open access. Publishing open access means that your article will be free to access online immediately on publication, increasing the visibility, readership, and impact of your research. Why choose open access? Increase the discoverability…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review
Peer review for special issue papers by Journal Editors in consultation with Special Issue Editors Model summary
All submitted papers are subject to peer review by the Journal Editors in consultation with the Special Issue Editors.
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Taylor & Francis
- ISSN
- 2379-2949
- Electronic ISSN
- 2379-2957
- Society / sponsor
- Regional Studies Association
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 11, Issue 3 (2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Area Development and Policy
What CAS zone is Area Development and Policy in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Area Development and Policy is in Zone 3 of Economics, and in Zone 3 of the minor category Development Studies. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 3 of Economics. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Area Development and Policy?
The journal's website gives an impact factor of 2.4 (2025); this is the journal's own figure, as LetPub lists none for it; CiteScore 4.6, h-index 34.
How long does peer review take at Area Development and Policy?
Based on the dates recorded on 51 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 262 days (interquartile range 166–368 days); the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 13%. Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
What JCR quartile is Area Development and Policy in?
The journal's website gives JCR Q2 (best quartile). JCR quartiles are Clarivate's to confirm and a different system from the CAS zones; in the CAS ranking the journal is in Zone 3 of Economics.
Where are the editorial board members of Area Development and Policy based?
Of the 6 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are Hong Kong, China (2), United Kingdom (1) and India (1). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Area Development and Policy?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Area Development and Policy is indexed in ESCI and Scopus.
Is Area Development and Policy open access, and what is the APC?
Area Development and Policy is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC charged, amount not published.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-26). Last updated: .