Journal profile · Multiple
Public Administration
ISSN 0033-3298 · eISSN 1467-9299 · Wiley-Blackwell
Public Administration: CAS Zone 2 · Management (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 4.63; hybrid open access; APC about USD 3,950; median 231 days to acceptance (91 articles, last 24 months); acceptance rate 7% (journal website); 77 articles in 2025; indexed in SSCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Public Administration is published by Wiley-Blackwell 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, Local Government Finance and Decentralization and Political Systems and Governance, together about 45.3% of its articles. Its main subfields are Political Science and International Relations. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Public Administration, founded in 1922, is a major refereed journal with global circulation and global coverage. The journal publishes articles on all facets of public administration, public policy and public management. The editors are especially interested in papers that deal with major administrative challenges that generate theoretical advances and provide substantive insights. Aims & Objectives The journal has three core objectives: To stimulate international scholarly and practitioner dialogue in public administration, public management, public organization theory and policy analysis; To encourage critical and comparative analysis of challenges facing contemporary systems of governing; To publish theoretically and empirically rigorous research on topics of broad and vivid current interest. Public Administration is edited by an international team and draws on an international editorial board. Book Reviews The Reviews section discusses important books that address critical issues in public administration, public management, and policy analysis. Our book review editors look for relevant books and capable reviewers across all disciplines. Further details of editorial policy Public Administration is publishes articles on all aspects of public administration, public management, public organization theory and public policy irrespective of academic discipline, geographical region, theoretical lens or methodological approach. It is essential that all articles meet the criteria of theoretical rigour and broad current interest. Articles need not be comparative in the strict sense, but to speak to an international audience. All contributions must develop broad arguments and themes. Single-case studies or manuscripts focusing on specific events will only be reviewed if they have wider theoretical significance. Keywords Public administration, public policy, management, European, British, policy, analysis, health, services, American, reviews, book, periodical, media, electronic, journal, research, analysis, article, theory, studies. Abstracting and Indexing Information ABI/INFORM Collection (ProQuest) America: History & Life (EBSCO Publishing) Business ASAP (GALE Cengage) Business Premium Collection (ProQuest) Criminal Justice Abstracts (EBSCO Publishing) Current Contents: Social & Behavioral Sciences (Clarivate Analytics) Emerald Management Reviews (Emerald) Expanded Academic ASAP (GALE Cengage) GEOBASE (Elsevier) Historical Abstracts (EBSCO Publishing) InfoTrac (
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Multiple
Editor-in-chief Bruce D. McDonaldPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 1 in mainland China (about 20%); most named United States 3, Mainland China 1, Hong Kong, China 1 (5 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Public Policy and Administration ResearchSocial Sciences25.9%
- Local Government Finance and DecentralizationSocial Sciences11.8%
- Political Systems and GovernanceSocial Sciences7.7%
- Political and Economic history of UK and USSocial Sciences6.2%
- Social Policy and Reform StudiesSocial Sciences4.1%
- Nonprofit Sector and VolunteeringSocial Sciences3.5%
- Commonwealth, Australian Politics and FederalismSocial Sciences2.9%
- Policy Transfer and LearningSocial Sciences2.9%
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 | Political Science | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Public Administration | 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)Management Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Management | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Political Science | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Public Administration | 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
INSPECCurrent ContentsPublisher website
Other: EBSCO, 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
- 4.63LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 4.7Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 11.9LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 11.9Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 2.72LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 2.78LetPub ·
- h-index
- 159OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 1,838OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 4.83OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 21.3%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 67.04%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 66LetPub ·
- Articles per year (publisher) 2025
- 69Publisher website ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 546,441Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 5,726 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 63 | 41 | 26 |
| 2025 | 77 | 59 | 362 |
| 2024 | 75 | 54 | 651 |
| 2023 | 68 | 53 | 945 |
| 2022 | 96 | 58 | 2,679 |
| 2021 | 110 | 50 | 2,681 |
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
231 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 189 days – 305 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 14 days (91 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 248 days
- Sample
- 91 articles with submission and acceptance dates (145 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
- Acceptance rate (publisher) 2025
- 7%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision 2025
- 11 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance 2025
- 254 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication 2025
- 14 daysPublisher website ·
- Peer review
- Double anonymous peer review, Open 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 3,950 / EUR 3,300 / GBP 2,590 | — | — | |
| 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)
What to prepare2 items from the author guidelines
- Reference style
- APA
- First submission
- Free format: the journal's layout is not required
Article types accepted2
- replication studiesReplication Studies Public Administration publishes replications of studies that have been published in journals from the field of public administration.Length not stated
- research articlesResearch Articles Articles representing original research.Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAuthorship, Data availability, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review, Preprints
- Authorship Authorship
All listed authors should have contributed to the manuscript substantially and have agreed to the final submitted version. Review editorial standards and scroll down for a description of authorship criteria.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Data availability Data Sharing and Data Availability
This journal encourages data sharing. Review Wiley’s Data Sharing policy where you will be able to see and select the data availability statement that is right for your submission.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright Reproduction of Copyright Material
If excerpts from copyrighted works owned by third parties are included, credit must be shown in the contribution. It is your responsibility to also obtain written permission for reproduction from the copyright owners. For more information visit Wiley’s Copyright Terms & Conditions FAQ.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open Access
Hybrid open access Model summary
This journal is a subscription journal that offers an open access option. You’ll have the option to choose to make your article open access after acceptance, which will be subject to an APC, unless a waiver applies. Read more about APCs here.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer Review
Double-blind peer review Model summary
This journal operates under a double-blind peer review model. Except where otherwise stated, manuscripts are peer reviewed by at least two anonymous reviewers. Papers will only be sent to review if the Editor-in-Chief determines that the paper meets the appropriate quality and relevance requirements.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints
Free format submission Model summary
Public Administration offers Free Format submission for a simplified and streamlined submission process.
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
- Wiley-Blackwell
- ISSN
- 0033-3298
- Electronic ISSN
- 1467-9299
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Public Administration
What CAS zone is Public Administration in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Public Administration is in Zone 2 of Management, and in Zone 2 of the minor category Political Science / Public Administration. 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 Public Administration?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 4.63; CiteScore 11.9, h-index 159.
How long does peer review take at Public Administration?
Based on the dates recorded on 91 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 231 days (interquartile range 189–305 days); the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 7% (2025). 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 Public Administration?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Reference style: APA; First submission: Free format: the journal's layout is not required. 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 Public Administration based?
Of the 5 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 1 (about 20%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (3), Mainland China (1) and Hong Kong, China (1). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Public Administration?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Public Administration is indexed in SSCI and Scopus. The journal's website also lists INSPEC and Current Contents; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Public Administration open access, and what is the APC?
Public Administration is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 3,950.
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: .