Journal profile · DEVELOPMENT STUDIES
Forum for Development Studies
ISSN 0803-9410 · eISSN 1891-1765 · Taylor & Francis
Forum for Development Studies: CAS Zone 3 · Economics (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 1.2 (journal website); hybrid open access; APC charged, amount not published; review about 125 days (first decision after review, publisher); acceptance rate 17% (journal website); 34 articles in 2025; indexed in ESCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Forum for Development Studies 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 International Development and Aid, Diverse Scientific and Economic Studies and Human auditory perception and evaluation, together about 37.3% of its articles. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Forum for Development Studies was established in 1974, and soon became the leading Norwegian journal for development research. While this position has been consolidated, Forum has gradually become an international journal, with its main constituency in the Nordic countries. The journal is owned by the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI) and the Norwegian Association for Development Research. Forum aims to be a platform for development research broadly defined – including the social sciences, economics, history and law. All articles are double anonymized peer-reviewed. In order to maintain the journal as a meeting place for different disciplines, we encourage authors to communicate across disciplinary boundaries. Contributions that limit the use of exclusive terminology and frame the questions explored in ways that are accessible to the whole range of the Journal's readership will be given priority. We encourage articles with a solid empirical foundation, including empirical findings based on the practical implementation of development projects, but also contributions of a more theoretical nature. In particular, we welcome articles that explore new perspectives within development studies, and examine the implications of such theories for the study of development processes.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): DEVELOPMENT STUDIES
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- International Development and AidSocial Sciences21.7%
- Diverse Scientific and Economic StudiesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance8.8%
- Human auditory perception and evaluationEngineering6.8%
- Poverty, Education, and Child WelfareSocial Sciences5.7%
- Religion, Society, and DevelopmentSocial Sciences5.2%
- Human Rights and DevelopmentSocial Sciences4.3%
- Agriculture, Land Use, Rural DevelopmentAgricultural and Biological Sciences4%
- Land Rights and ReformsAgricultural and Biological Sciences3.7%
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 4 |
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
- CiteScore Q2 · 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
CAB AbstractsPublisher website
Other: ProQuest
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
- 1.2Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 1.3Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 2.4LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 2.4Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.34LetPub ·
- SJR (publisher) 2025
- 0.34Publisher website ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.88LetPub ·
- SNIP (publisher) 2025
- 0.88Publisher website ·
- h-index
- 43OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 235OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 2.49OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 16.7%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 41.46%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 33LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher)
- 110,000Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 1,062 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 14 | 3 | 4 |
| 2025 | 34 | 16 | 93 |
| 2024 | 34 | 25 | 107 |
| 2023 | 18 | 9 | 74 |
| 2022 | 26 | 12 | 149 |
| 2021 | 25 | 11 | 203 |
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
125 daysfirst decision after review
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
- Acceptance rate (publisher)
- 17%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 17 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 125 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 14 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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
Hybrid open access journal Model summary
Forum for Development Studies 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 discoverabili…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review
Double anonymized peer review Model summary
All articles are double anonymized peer-reviewed.
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
- 0803-9410
- Electronic ISSN
- 1891-1765
- Society / sponsor
- Norwegian Institute of International Affairs
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 53, Issue 2 (2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Forum for Development Studies
What CAS zone is Forum for Development Studies in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Forum for Development Studies is in Zone 3 of Economics, and in Zone 4 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 Forum for Development Studies?
The journal's website gives an impact factor of 1.2 (2025); this is the journal's own figure, as LetPub lists none for it; CiteScore 2.4, h-index 43.
How long does peer review take at Forum for Development Studies?
The publisher reports about 125 days (first decision after review); the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 17%. 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.
Which databases index Forum for Development Studies?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Forum for Development Studies is indexed in ESCI and Scopus. The journal's website also lists CAB Abstracts; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Forum for Development Studies open access, and what is the APC?
Forum for Development Studies 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 2026-08-25). Last updated: .