Journal profile · GEOGRAPHY
Regional Science Policy and Practice
ISSN 1757-7802 · Wiley-Blackwell
Regional Science Policy and Practice: CAS Zone 3 · Economics (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 3.8 (journal website); fully open access; APC about USD 1,750; review about 213 days (submission to acceptance, publisher); 103 articles in 2025; indexed in ESCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Regional Science Policy and Practice is published by Wiley-Blackwell 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 Regional Economics and Spatial Analysis, Regional Development and Policy and Regional resilience and development, together about 33.1% of its articles. Its main subfields are Economics and Econometrics. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
RSPP has been publishing as a fully Open Access journal since January 2024 and welcomes submissions from all authors. Regional Science Policy and Practice (RSPP) is the journal of the Regional Science Association International that publishes high quality papers in regional science, assumed to be the discipline that looks at people and places' interactions within space; with sound, replicable and advanced methods; suitable to generate robust evidences that are able to inform effective policies for regional sustainable development. It welcomes papers from a range of academic disciplines and practitioners including planning, public policy, geography, economics and environmental science and related fields. Papers should address the interface between academic debates and policy development and application. RSPP provides an opportunity for academics and policy makers to develop a dialogue to identify and explore many of the challenges facing local and regional economies.RSPP publishes high quality papers targeted at informing the policy development process leading to the formation of theoretically grounded regional policy. The editors invite submissions dealing with the policy and practice of regional and local development. Contributions that are the outcome of collaborations between researchers and policy and practice professions are encouraged.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): GEOGRAPHY
Editor-in-chief Andrea Caragliu Politecnico diPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 1 in mainland China (about 2%); most named United States 14, Japan 5, Brazil 5, United Kingdom 2, South Korea 2 (45 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Regional Economics and Spatial AnalysisEconomics, Econometrics and Finance14%
- Regional Development and PolicySocial Sciences10.3%
- Regional resilience and developmentEconomics, Econometrics and Finance8.8%
- Fiscal Policy and Economic GrowthEconomics, Econometrics and Finance8.1%
- Urban Transport and AccessibilitySocial Sciences4.5%
- Economic Growth and ProductivityEconomics, Econometrics and Finance4.3%
- Diverse Scientific and Economic StudiesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance4.1%
- Human auditory perception and evaluationEngineering4.1%
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 | Geography | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Economics Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Economics | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Geography | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
Database indexing
ESCIScopusDOAJLetPub
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 (publisher)
- 3.8Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 5.6LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 5.6Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.89LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.32LetPub ·
- h-index
- 43OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 378OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 4.2OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 28.9%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 68.95%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 83LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 1,205 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 69 | 69 | 44 |
| 2025 | 103 | 103 | 427 |
| 2024 | 132 | 132 | 806 |
| 2023 | 135 | 126 | 1,045 |
| 2022 | 119 | 111 | 1,223 |
| 2021 | 128 | 119 | 1,206 |
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
213 dayssubmission to acceptance
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
- Submission to first decision
- 2 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance
- 213 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 40 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 1,750 | Yes | CC BY, CC BY-NC-ND | |
| OpenAlex | USD 1,596 / EUR 1,460 / GBP 1,280 / JPY 217,050 | — | — | |
| Publisher website | USD 1,750 | — | — |
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)
Open calls for papers1, by deadline
- The future of CohesionDeadline
What to prepare5 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- ≤ 250 words
- Keywords
- 1–7
- Reference style
- Author–date
- Highlights
- Optional
- Graphical abstract
- Optional
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Authorship, Conflicts of interest, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review, Preprints
- AI use Declaration of generative AI use
Authors must declare the use of generative AI tools in the manuscript preparation process upon submission of the paper.Generative AI and AI-assisted technologies (“AI tools”) have been rapidly adopted in research and scholarly publishing, offering significant benefits while requiring clear standards for responsible and transparent use.Authors preparing a manuscript for this journal may use AI tool…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Authorship Group authorship
Group authorship refers to the attribution of an article to a defined and named group of authors whose members have contributed to the work. Examples include research consortia, clinical trial groups, collaborative networks, task forces or working groups, expert panels or consensus groups, and participatory research groups. Group authorship must be declared on the title page at submission. When av…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Declaration of competing interests
All authors must disclose any financial and personal relationships with other people or organizations that could inappropriately influence or bias their work. Examples of potential competing interests include:EmploymentConsultanciesStock ownershipHonorariaPaid expert testimonyPatent applications or registrationsGrants or any other fundingAffiliation with the journal as an Editor or Advisory Board …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright License options
Authors will be offered open access user license options which will determine how you, and third parties, can reuse your open access article. We advise that you review these options and any funding body license requirements before selecting a license option.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access
We refer you to our open access information page to learn about open access options for this journal.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer review
This journal follows a double anonymized review process. Your submission will initially be assessed by our editors. If your submission is deemed suitable, it will typically be sent to be reviewed by a minimum of two reviewers for an independent expert assessment of the scientific quality. The decision as to whether your article is accepted or rejected for publication will be made by our editors.Re…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints Preprints
Preprint sharingAuthors may share preprints in line with Elsevier's article sharing policy. Sharing preprints, such as on a preprint server, will not count as prior publication.We advise you to read our policy on multiple, redundant or concurrent publication.
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
- 1757-7802
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗DOAJ
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Author guidelines ↗DOAJ
- Aims & Scope ↗DOAJ
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
- APC information ↗DOAJ
- Fee waivers ↗DOAJ
- Open access statement ↗DOAJ
- License & copyright ↗DOAJ
- Peer review process ↗DOAJ
- Editorial board ↗DOAJ
- Plagiarism policy ↗DOAJ
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Regional Science Policy and Practice
What CAS zone is Regional Science Policy and Practice in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Regional Science Policy and Practice is in Zone 3 of Economics, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Geography. 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 Regional Science Policy and Practice?
The journal's website gives an impact factor of 3.8; this is the journal's own figure, as LetPub lists none for it; CiteScore 5.6, h-index 43.
How long does peer review take at Regional Science Policy and Practice?
The publisher reports about 213 days (submission to acceptance). 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 Regional Science Policy and Practice?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: ≤ 250 words; Keywords: 1–7; Reference style: Author–date; Highlights: Optional; Graphical abstract: 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 Regional Science Policy and Practice based?
Of the 45 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 1 (about 2%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (14), Japan (5) and Brazil (5). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Regional Science Policy and Practice?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Regional Science Policy and Practice is indexed in ESCI, Scopus and DOAJ.
Is Regional Science Policy and Practice open access, and what is the APC?
Regional Science Policy and Practice is a fully open-access journal. APC about USD 1,750.
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 2026-08-25). Last updated: .