Journal profile · ECONOMICS
Economic Systems
ISSN 0939-3625 · eISSN 1878-5433 · Elsevier
Economic Systems: CAS Zone 3 · Economics (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 3.02; hybrid open access; APC about USD 2,930; review about 269 days (submission to acceptance, publisher); 64 articles in 2025; indexed in SSCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Economic Systems is published by Elsevier 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 Monetary Policy and Economic Impact, Global Financial Crisis and Policies and Fiscal Policy and Economic Growth, together about 29.9% of its articles. Its main subfields are Economics and Econometrics. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Published on behalf of the Leibniz Institute for East and Southeast European Studies in collaboration with EACESEconomic Systems is a refereed journal publishing rigorous, policy-relevant research on how institutions, governance structures, and macro-financial policies shape economic outcomes across countries and regions. The journal’s core mission is to advance understanding of the functioning and transformation of real-world economic systems.The journal places particular emphasis on comparative, international, and system-level analysis, with a strong focus on economies undergoing structural change, integration, development, transition, or institutional reform. Contributions typically examine how economic policies and institutional arrangements jointly influence growth, stability, inequality, innovation, and financial development.Economic Systems primarily publishes empirically grounded research using robust quantitative methods, including panel and time-series econometrics, causal identification strategies, and empirically validated structural or semi-structural models. While both micro- and macro-level analyses are welcome, submissions must clearly speak to broader economic-system mechanisms rather than narrowly defined local or sectoral effects.The journal is especially interested in research addressing:- institutions, governance, and political economy;- monetary, fiscal, and macro-financial policies;- financial development, regulation, and integration;- structural reforms, globalization, and economic transformation;- inequality, innovation, human capital, and development within different institutional settings.Purely theoretical contributions are considered only when they are tightly anchored in real institutional contexts and offer clear, system-level or policy-relevant insights. Studies focused on a single country or case are in scope only if they generate findings of broader relevance for understanding economic systems more generally.Overall, Economic Systems aims to publish work that combines strong empirical standards with substantive contributions to debates on how economic systems function, evolve, and respond to policy interventions in a changing global economy.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): ECONOMICS
Editorial board by country: 5 in mainland China (about 13%); most named United States 15, Mainland China 5, Italy 5, Germany 3, United Kingdom 2 (40 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Monetary Policy and Economic ImpactEconomics, Econometrics and Finance11.3%
- Global Financial Crisis and PoliciesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance9.6%
- Fiscal Policy and Economic GrowthEconomics, Econometrics and Finance9%
- Banking stability, regulation, efficiencyEconomics, Econometrics and Finance7.3%
- Global trade and economicsEconomics, Econometrics and Finance5.7%
- Market Dynamics and VolatilityEconomics, Econometrics and Finance5.1%
- Corporate Finance and GovernanceBusiness, Management and Accounting5.1%
- Economic Growth and ProductivityEconomics, Econometrics and Finance5%
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 | Economics | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Economics Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Economics | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Economics | Zone 2 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Economics Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Economics | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Economics | Zone 2 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SSCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
PubMedPublisher website
Other: Crossref
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
- 3.02LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 3.1Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 6.1LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 6.1Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.77LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.38LetPub ·
- h-index
- 83OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 663OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 3.35OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 3.2%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 25.65%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 60LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 1,308 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 51 | 11 | 16 |
| 2025 | 64 | 19 | 128 |
| 2024 | 86 | 40 | 530 |
| 2023 | 58 | 21 | 545 |
| 2022 | 84 | 23 | 1,405 |
| 2021 | 57 | 14 | 1,044 |
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
Publisher-reported review time from the journal's website
269 dayssubmission to acceptance
The publisher's own definition applies; dates from this journal's articles in the last 24 months are not available yet, so the publisher's figure is used.
Figures by source
- Submission to first decision
- 2 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 90 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance
- 269 daysPublisher website ·
- Peer review
- Double anonymous peer reviewPublisher 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | USD 2,930 / EUR 2,740 / GBP 2,350 / JPY 363,410 | — | — | |
| Publisher website | USD 3,110 | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
Other charges and waivers (author guidelines)
- Submission fee
- EUR 80
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)
Open calls for papers1, by deadline
Publisher websiteWhat to prepare4 items from the author guidelines
- Reference style
- Author–date
- First submission
- Free format: the journal's layout is not required
- Suggested reviewers
- Required
- Graphical abstract
- Optional
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Authorship, Conflicts of interest, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review, Preprints
- AI use Declaration of generative AI in scientific writing
Authors must declare the use of generative AI tools in the manuscript preparation process upon submission of the paper.Generative AI and AI-assisted technologies (“AI tools”) have been rapidly adopted in research and scholarly publishing, offering significant benefits while requiring clear standards for responsible and transparent use.Authors preparing a manuscript for this journal may use AI tool…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Authorship Author contributions
Submission fee of €80 Model summary
For transparency, we require corresponding authors to provide co-author contributions to the manuscript using the relevant CRediT roles. The CRediT taxonomy includes 14 different roles describing each contributor's specific contribution to the scholarly output. The roles are: Conceptualization; Data curation; Formal analysis; Funding acquisition; Investigation; Methodology; Project administration;…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Declaration of interest
All authors must disclose any financial and personal relationships with other people or organizations that could inappropriately influence (bias) their work. Examples of potential competing interests include employment, consultancies, stock ownership, honoraria, paid expert testimony, patent applications/registrations, and grants or other funding. Authors must disclose any interests in two places:…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright Copyright
Upon acceptance of an article, authors will be asked to complete a 'Journal Publishing Agreement' (see more information on this). An e-mail will be sent to the corresponding author confirming receipt of the manuscript together with a 'Journal Publishing Agreement' form or a link to the online version of this agreement.Subscribers may reproduce tables of contents or prepare lists of articles includ…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access
Please visit our Open Access page for more information about open access publishing in this journal.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review 4. Peer Review and Acceptance Standards
Double anonymized peer review process Model summary
All submissions to a special issue are subject to the same peer-review standards as regular submissions to Economic Systems, including the journal’s strong emphasis on rigorous empirical analysis and policy-relevant identification strategies. In particular: all papers undergo anonymous external peer review;acceptance decisions are based solely on scholarly merit, contribution, and fit with the jou…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints Preprint references
Where a preprint has subsequently become available as a peer-reviewed publication, the formal publication should be used as the reference. If there are preprints that are central to your work or that cover crucial developments in the topic, but are not yet formally published, these may be referenced. Preprints should be clearly marked as such, for example by including the word preprint, or the nam…
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
- Elsevier
- ISSN
- 0939-3625
- Electronic ISSN
- 1878-5433
- Society / sponsor
- Leibniz Institute for East and Southeast European Studies in collaboration with EACES
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Economic Systems
What CAS zone is Economic Systems in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Economic Systems is in Zone 3 of Economics, and in Zone 3 of the minor category Economics. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 2 of Economics. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Economic Systems?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 3.02; CiteScore 6.1, h-index 83.
How long does peer review take at Economic Systems?
The publisher reports about 269 days (submission to acceptance). 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 are the manuscript requirements of Economic Systems?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Reference style: Author–date; First submission: Free format: the journal's layout is not required; Suggested reviewers: Required; Graphical abstract: Optional. A model extracted these from the author guidelines and each was checked against the text; check the latest version on the journal's website before submitting.
Where are the editorial board members of Economic Systems based?
Of the 40 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 5 (about 13%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (15), Mainland China (5) and Italy (5). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Economic Systems?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Economic Systems is indexed in SSCI and Scopus. The journal's website also lists PubMed; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Economic Systems open access, and what is the APC?
Economic Systems is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 2,930.
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: .