Journal profile · Social Sciences-Development
Journal of Illicit Economies and Development
ISSN 2516-7227 · LSE Press · United Kingdom
Journal of Illicit Economies and Development: diamond open access (no APC); no APC; review about 38 weeks (community reports); 20 articles in 2025; indexed in Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Journal of Illicit Economies and Development is published by LSE Press. By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Crime, Illicit Activities, and Governance, Criminal Law and Policy and Conflict, Peace, and Violence in Colombia, together about 49% of its articles. Its main subfields are Sociology and Political Science. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Illicit economies have a major yet often overlooked influence on the development trajectories of countries. With a large number of people globally involved in the supply chains of illicit markets, these have undermined governance and catalysed insecurity in some contexts, whilst consolidating power and providing important economic spillovers for marginalised communities in others. The ways in which these markets influence and intertwine with development processes have historically been overlooked, with research produced in academic siloes. Some of the world’s most complex conflicts and humanitarian emergencies are found in settings where illicit markets are protracted and pose significant challenges to the achievement of peace, development and security. This is indicative in Afghanistan, Colombia, Myanmar, Yemen, Syria, among others. However, the negative impacts of illicit markets are not confined to the Global South, but are manifested in, for example, unequal and disparate outcomes for ethnic minorities in criminal justice systems in the Global North. Simultaneously, involvement in these markets provide a vast number of people with the only viable option for relative livelihood and income security, as seen in the cultivation of poppy and coca crops in contexts of fragility and insecurity. The Journal of Illicit Economies and Development (JIED) focuses explicitly on the relationship between illicit economies and comprehensive approaches to development. It aims to provide policy makers and practitioners with in-depth analyses into illicit markets and their potential impacts on the planning and implementation of projects in complex settings – whilst facilitating for the emergence of a new cross-disciplinary academic debate on these issues. JIED seeks to address the issues faced by policy makers and practitioners operating in Fragile and Conflict Affected Settings (FCAS) particularly. However, it welcomes the submission of studies from the Global North and non-conflict affected settings, where there is a clear need for further in-depth analyses of how illicit economies affect wider socioeconomic processes and outcomes. JIED is open to and actively encourages the use of new methodologies and approaches to researching illicit economies. For example, the emerging use of Geospatial Information Systems (GIS) in mapping illicit crop cultivation or illicit supply routes for narcotics, arms, oil, among others, shows the need for new approaches to conceptualising il
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Social Sciences-Development
Editor-in-chief John CollinsPublisher website
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named United States 5, United Kingdom 3, Austria 3, Switzerland 2, South Africa 2 (25 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Crime, Illicit Activities, and GovernanceSocial Sciences36.3%
- Criminal Law and PolicySocial Sciences6.5%
- Conflict, Peace, and Violence in ColombiaSocial Sciences6.3%
- Taxation and Compliance StudiesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance4.8%
- Youth, Drugs, and ViolenceSocial Sciences4.5%
- Crime Patterns and InterventionsSocial Sciences3.8%
- Terrorism, Counterterrorism, and Political ViolenceSocial Sciences3.5%
- Peacebuilding and International SecuritySocial Sciences2.8%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
CiteScore quartiles (Scopus, June 2026 release)
| Subject | Quartile | Rank | Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| Development | Q2 | 157/314 | — |
Scopus ranks journals by CiteScore within each subject: the 75th percentile and above is Q1, then a quartile every 25 points. A different system from the CAS zones.LetPub
Database indexing
ScopusDOAJLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
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
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 2.2LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.38LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.82LetPub ·
- h-index
- 18OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 40OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 2.18OpenAlex ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 0%LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 180 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 10 | 10 | 241 |
| 2025 | 20 | 20 | 321 |
| 2024 | 30 | 30 | 206 |
| 2023 | 7 | 7 | 138 |
| 2022 | 31 | 31 | 115 |
| 2021 | 40 | 40 | 99 |
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
- Average review time (community reports)
- about 38 weeksLetPub ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 38 weeksDOAJ ·
- Peer review
- Double anonymous peer reviewDOAJ
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
Diamond open access (no APC)DOAJ
Every article is open access and authors pay no article processing charge.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DOAJ | No APC | No | CC BY | |
| LetPub | No APC | No | — | |
| Publisher website | No APC | — | — |
Other charges and waivers (author guidelines)
- Submission fee
- No submission fee
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
- ≤ 250 words
- Keywords
- ≤ 6
- Manuscript length
- ≤ 8,000 words
- Reference style
- Harvard
Article types accepted11, with length limits
- commentaryovel information or evaluations. Policy commentary papers should be no longer than 3000 words in length, including referencing and citation. This sectionmain text ≤ 3,000 words
- letterth, including referencing and citation. Letters Letters should be no longer than 1000 words in length. Letters can respond to reviews or comment on artmain text ≤ 1,000 words
- lettersLetters should be no longer than 1000 words in length.Length not stated
- methods articleicability within the body of the paper. Methods articles should be no longer than 3,000 words in length, including referencing and citation, with an abstmain text ≤ 3,000 words · abstract ≤ 200 words
- methods articlesMethods articles should be no longer than 3,000 words in length, including referencing and citation, with an abstract of no more than 200 words. This section is…Length not stated
- policy commentaryPolicy commentary papers should be no longer than 3000 words in length, including referencing and citation. This section is peer reviewed.Length not stated
- researchResearch articles should be no more than 8,000 words in length, including referencing and citation, with an abstract of no more than 250 words. This section is …Length not stated
- research articleby relevant figures and tabulated data. Research articles should be no more than 8,000 words in length, including referencing and citation, with an abstmain text ≤ 8,000 words
- reviewReviews can cover topics such as current controversies or the historical development of studies as well as issues of regional or temporal focus. Papers should c…main text ≤ 3,000 words
- review articlethe relevant body of extant literature. Review articles should be no longer than 3,000 words in length, including referencing and citation. Letters Lettmain text ≤ 3,000 words
- reviewsReview articles should be no longer than 3,000 words in length, including referencing and citation.Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review
- AI use
AI use must be disclosed in the Acknowledgments section of the manuscript. Model summary
Any use of AI, a language model, machine learning, or similar tools to create or assist with creation or editing of any of the content in this submission (eg, text, tables, figures, video) has been disclosed in the Acknowledgments section of the manuscript (this doesn’t include basic tools for checking grammar, spelling, references, etc.)
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright Copyright Notice
Authors retain copyright; published under a Creative Commons Attribution License. Model summary
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms. If a submission is rejected or withdrawn prior to publication, all rights return to the author(s): Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's a…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open Access Policy
This journal provides immediate open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge. Authors of articles published remain the copyright holders and grant third parties the right to use, reproduce, and share the article according to the Creative Commons license agreement.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review
Manuscripts must be anonymized for blind peer review. Model summary
To ensure blind peer review, please only list the title and abstract on the submitted manuscript file.
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
- LSE Press
- Country or region
- United Kingdom
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 2516-7227
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 8, Issue 2 (2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Aims & Scope ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
- APC information ↗DOAJ
- Open access statement ↗DOAJ
- License & copyright ↗DOAJ
- Peer review process ↗LetPub
- Editorial board ↗LetPub
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Journal of Illicit Economies and Development
How long does peer review take at Journal of Illicit Economies and Development?
Authors report an average review time of about 38 weeks. 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 Illicit Economies and Development?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: ≤ 250 words; Keywords: ≤ 6; Manuscript length: ≤ 8,000 words; Reference style: Harvard. 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 Illicit Economies and Development based?
Of the 25 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (5), United Kingdom (3) and Austria (3). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Journal of Illicit Economies and Development?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Journal of Illicit Economies and Development is indexed in Scopus and DOAJ.
Is Journal of Illicit Economies and Development open access, and what is the APC?
Journal of Illicit Economies and Development is a diamond open-access journal (no APC). It charges no article processing charge.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, DOAJ, 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: .