Journal profile · Multiple
Policy and Society
ISSN 1449-4035 · eISSN 1839-3373 · Taylor & Francis Group · United Kingdom
Policy and Society: CAS Zone 2 · Management (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 6.22; fully open access; APC about USD 1,570; review about 6 days (submission to final decision, publisher); 50 articles in 2025; indexed in SSCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Policy and Society is published by Taylor & Francis Group and is in Zone 2 of Management in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Public Policy and Administration Research, Policy Transfer and Learning and Social Policy and Reform Studies, together about 40.2% of its articles. Its main subfields are Political Science and International Relations. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Policy and Society (P&S) is a leading international open-access journal publishing peer-reviewed research on critical issues in policy theory and practice. The journal examines the origins, workings, and implications of policies within their broader political, social, and economic contexts. Policy and Society publishes work in three formats: Themed issues: 8-12 related articles, organized by guest editors Symposia: 4-7 related articles, organized by guest editors Individual papers. Non-thematic. All manuscripts follow the criteria in the Instructions for Authors and undergo desk review followed by double-blind peer review. As a fully open-access journal, accepted papers are subject to an Author Publication Charge. Themed issues and symposia: Scholars interested in submitting proposals for themed issues or symposia should consult the Instructions for Themed Issues and Instructions for Authors pages. Authors wishing to contribute an individual paper to an announced themed issue should contact the Editorial Office before submission. Individual papers: The journal welcome papers that make a clear theoretical contribution to the policy sciences and engage a broad, interdisciplinary readership. Submissions may address central or emerging issues, challenge established frameworks, or open new lines of inquiry. Empirical studies should offer insights that reach beyond the specific case examined. Submission to the individual paper should be done through the submission site. Policy and Society is a fully open access journal, and all individual submissions are subject to an Author Publication charge (APC) . All submissions to Policy and Society are double-blind peer reviewed. For more information on submitting articles or proposals for themed sections, please refer to the instructions for authors page.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Multiple
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named Italy 2, Canada 2, United Kingdom 1, France 1, Israel 1 (8 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Public Policy and Administration ResearchSocial Sciences14.7%
- Policy Transfer and LearningSocial Sciences12.9%
- Social Policy and Reform StudiesSocial Sciences12.6%
- Political Influence and Corporate StrategiesBusiness, Management and Accounting5.9%
- Evaluation and Performance AssessmentDecision Sciences4.2%
- International Development and AidSocial Sciences3.9%
- Labor Movements and UnionsSocial Sciences3.9%
- European Union Policy and GovernanceSocial Sciences3.5%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Management Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Management | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Public Administration | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Political Science | Zone 2 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Management Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Management | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Political Science | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Public Administration | Zone 1 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Sociology Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Political Science | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Public Administration | Zone 1 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
Database indexing
SSCIScopusDOAJLetPub
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
- Impact factor
- 6.22LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 4Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 8.1Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 13.6LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 13.6Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 1.44LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 2.45LetPub ·
- h-index
- 86OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 492OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 10.64OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 6.5%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 99.07%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 38LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 509,294Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 918 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 22 | 22 | 16 |
| 2025 | 50 | 50 | 301 |
| 2024 | 40 | 40 | 875 |
| 2023 | 35 | 35 | 616 |
| 2022 | 45 | 45 | 1,919 |
| 2021 | 27 | 27 | 1,450 |
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
6 dayssubmission to final decision · community reports about 30 weeks
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
- Average review time (community reports)
- about 30 weeksLetPub ·
- Submission to first decision 2025
- 6 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to final decision 2025
- 6 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 75 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 30 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
Fully open accessDOAJ
Every article is open access; authors usually pay an article processing charge (APC).
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DOAJ | USD 1,570 | Yes | CC BY, CC BY-NC | |
| OpenAlex | USD 1,634 | — | — | |
| LetPub | USD 1,570 | Yes | — |
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Taylor & Francis Group
- Country or region
- United Kingdom
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 1449-4035
- Electronic ISSN
- 1839-3373
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 45, Issue 3 (June 2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗DOAJ
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Aims & Scope ↗LetPub
- APC information ↗DOAJ
- Fee waivers ↗DOAJ
- Open access statement ↗DOAJ
- License & copyright ↗DOAJ
- Peer review process ↗LetPub
- Editorial board ↗LetPub
- Plagiarism policy ↗DOAJ
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Policy and Society
What CAS zone is Policy and Society in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Policy and Society is in Zone 2 of Management, and in Zone 1 of the minor category Public Administration / Political Science. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 1 of Management. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Policy and Society?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 6.22; CiteScore 13.6, h-index 86.
How long does peer review take at Policy and Society?
The publisher reports about 6 days (submission to final decision); authors report an average review time of about 30 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.
Where are the editorial board members of Policy and Society based?
Of the 8 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are Italy (2), Canada (2) and United Kingdom (1). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Policy and Society?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Policy and Society is indexed in SSCI, Scopus and DOAJ.
Is Policy and Society open access, and what is the APC?
Policy and Society is a fully open-access journal. APC about USD 1,570.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex, DOAJ; 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: .