Journal profile · ECONOMICS
Journal of Economic Inequality
ISSN 1569-1721 · eISSN 1573-8701 · Springer Nature · 4 issues per year
Journal of Economic Inequality: CAS Zone 2 · Economics (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 1.61; hybrid open access; APC about USD 3,290; median 319 days to acceptance (83 articles, last 24 months); 58 articles in 2025; indexed in SSCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Journal of Economic Inequality is published by Springer Nature and is in Zone 2 of Economics in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Income, Poverty, and Inequality, Fiscal Policy and Economic Growth and Gender, Labor, and Family Dynamics, together about 42.2% of its articles. Its main subfields are Economics and Econometrics. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
The Journal of Economic Inequality provides a forum for analysis of "economic inequality", broadly defined. Its scope includes:
· Theoretical and empirical analysis
· Monetary measures of 'well-being' such as earnings, income, consumption, and wealth; non-monetary measures such as educational achievement and health and health care; multidimensional measures
· Inequality and poverty within and between countries, and globally, and their trends over time
· Inequalities of opportunity
· Income mobility and poverty persistence
· The factor distribution of income
· Differences in 'well-being' between socioeconomic groups, for example between men and women, generations, or ethnic groups
· The effects of inequality on macroeconomic and other phenomena, and vice versa
· Related statistical methods and data issues
· Related policy analysis Papers need to prioritize the "economic inequality" dimension. For example, papers about trade and inequality, or inequality and growth, should not primarily be about trade or growth (in which case they should target a different journal). The same is true for papers considering the inter-relationships between the income distribution and the labour market, public policy, or demography.Officially cited as: J Econ Inequal
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): ECONOMICS
Editor-in-chief Frank A. CowellPublisher website
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named United States 9, Italy 6, France 5, Spain 5, United Kingdom 4 (47 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Income, Poverty, and InequalitySocial Sciences27.5%
- Fiscal Policy and Economic GrowthEconomics, Econometrics and Finance8.4%
- Gender, Labor, and Family DynamicsSocial Sciences6.3%
- Intergenerational and Educational Inequality StudiesSocial Sciences5.7%
- Labor market dynamics and wage inequalityEconomics, Econometrics and Finance5.4%
- Economic theories and modelsEconomics, Econometrics and Finance5.1%
- Poverty, Education, and Child WelfareSocial Sciences4.5%
- Economic Theory and PolicyEconomics, Econometrics and Finance3.9%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Economics Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Economics | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Economics | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Economics Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Economics | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Economics | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Economics Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Economics | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Economics | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SSCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
SCIEEconLitCurrent ContentsPublisher website
Other: Google Scholar, EBSCO, ProQuest, Dimensions, CNKI, Baidu, AGRICOLA, Naver, OCLC, Portico, CLOCKSS, RePEc
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
- 1.61LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 1.6Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 2.5Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 4.1LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 1.23LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.75LetPub ·
- h-index
- 80OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 391OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 2.13OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 0%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 56.08%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 49LetPub ·
- Articles per year (publisher)
- 2,025Publisher website ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 134,100Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 788 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 30 | 16 | 11 |
| 2025 | 58 | 40 | 142 |
| 2024 | 53 | 29 | 147 |
| 2023 | 49 | 35 | 421 |
| 2022 | 43 | 33 | 822 |
| 2021 | 40 | 27 | 1,085 |
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
319 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 184 days – 470 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 71 days (84 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 397 days
- Sample
- 83 articles with submission and acceptance dates (100 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
- Submission to first decision
- 24 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 3,290 / EUR 2,690 / GBP 2,390 | — | — |
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)
What to prepare4 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- 150–250 words
- Keywords
- ≥ 4
- Reference style
- Author–date
- Suggested reviewers
- Optional
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Authorship, Conflicts of interest, Data availability, Publication ethics, License & copyright, Open access
- AI use Generative AI Images
Please check Springer’s policy on generative AI images and make sure your work adheres to the principles described therein. Back to top
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Authorship Authorship principles
These guidelines describe authorship principles and good authorship practices to which prospective authors should adhere to. Authorship clarified The Journal and Publisher assume all authors agreed with the content and that all gave explicit consent to submit and that they obtained consent from the responsible authorities at the institute/organization where the work has been carried out, before th…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Disclosures and declarations
All authors are requested to include information regarding sources of funding, financial or non-financial interests, study-specific approval by the appropriate ethics committee for research involving humans and/or animals, informed consent if the research involved human participants, and a statement on welfare of animals if the research involved animals (as appropriate). The decision whether such …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Data availability Data availability statements
All original research must include a data availability statement. This statement should explain how to access data supporting the results and analysis in the article, including links/citations to publicly archived datasets analysed or generated during the study. Please see our full policy here. If it is not possible to share research data publicly, for instance when individual privacy could be com…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Publication ethics Compliance with Ethical Standards
To ensure objectivity and transparency in research and to ensure that accepted principles of ethical and professional conduct have been followed, authors should include information regarding sources of funding, potential conflicts of interest (financial or non-financial), informed consent if the research involved human participants, and a statement on welfare of animals if the research involved an…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright Copyright
Open Choice articles do not require transfer of copyright as the copyright remains with the author. In opting for open access, the author(s) agree to publish the article under a Creative Commons license. Details of the OA licences offered to authors can be found on the individual journal website, in the journal's How to publish with us guide. Back to top
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access publishing
To find out more about publishing your work Open Access in The Journal of Economic Inequality, including information on fees, funding and licences, visit our Open access publishing page. Back to top
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
- Springer Nature
- Frequency
- 4 issues per year
- ISSN
- 1569-1721
- Electronic ISSN
- 1573-8701
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 24, Issue 2 (June 2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Journal of Economic Inequality
What CAS zone is Journal of Economic Inequality in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Journal of Economic Inequality is in Zone 2 of Economics, and in Zone 3 of the minor category Economics. 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 Journal of Economic Inequality?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 1.61; CiteScore 4.1, h-index 80.
How long does peer review take at Journal of Economic Inequality?
Based on the dates recorded on 83 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 319 days (interquartile range 184–470 days). 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 Journal of Economic Inequality?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: 150–250 words; Keywords: ≥ 4; Reference style: Author–date; Suggested reviewers: 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 Journal of Economic Inequality based?
Of the 47 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (9), Italy (6) and France (5). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Journal of Economic Inequality?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Journal of Economic Inequality is indexed in SSCI and Scopus. The journal's website also lists SCIE, EconLit and Current Contents; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Journal of Economic Inequality open access, and what is the APC?
Journal of Economic Inequality is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 3,290.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, Publisher website; 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: .