Journal profile · Multiple
Regulation & Governance
ISSN 1748-5983 · eISSN 1748-5991 · Wiley-Blackwell
Regulation & Governance: CAS Zone 1 · Sociology (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal); impact factor 5.08; hybrid open access; APC about USD 4,480; median 273 days to acceptance (89 articles, last 24 months); acceptance rate 12% (journal website); 139 articles in 2025; indexed in SSCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Regulation & Governance is published by Wiley-Blackwell and is in Zone 1 of Sociology in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Regulation and Compliance Studies, Political Influence and Corporate Strategies and Global trade, sustainability, and social impact, together about 43.4% of its articles. Its main subfields are Strategy and Management and Political Science and International Relations. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Regulation & Governance reaches an international audience, and showcases research addressing the world's most pressing audit and risk challenges, across all fields of regulation. It addresses issues that transcend both intellectual and geographic boundaries and reports empirical results with broad implications. With guidance from an outstanding editorial board and carefully selected reviewers, Regulation & Governance publishes significant new studies of regulatory governance, review articles on major lines of research in the field, and occasional shorter essays exploring new insights and directions for study. Published quarterly, Regulation & Governance is essential reading for academics, regulators, and legal experts working in business and civil society. The editorial team is committed to open and critical dialogue and encourages scholarly papers from different disciplines, using diverse methodologies, and from all areas of the world.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Multiple
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Regulation and Compliance StudiesBusiness, Management and Accounting25.1%
- Political Influence and Corporate StrategiesBusiness, Management and Accounting9.4%
- Global trade, sustainability, and social impactBusiness, Management and Accounting9%
- Public Policy and Administration ResearchSocial Sciences5.9%
- Law, Economics, and Judicial SystemsEconomics, Econometrics and Finance4.1%
- Global Financial Regulation and CrisesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance3.4%
- Social Policy and Reform StudiesSocial Sciences3.3%
- Corruption and Economic DevelopmentSocial Sciences3.3%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Sociology Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Law | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Public Administration | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Political Science | Zone 3 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Sociology Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Law | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Political Science | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Public Administration | Zone 2 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Sociology Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Law | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Political Science | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Public Administration | Zone 3 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
Database indexing
SSCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
EconLitCurrent ContentsPublisher website
Other: 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
- 5.08LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 5.2Publisher website ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 5.2Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 10.6LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 10.6Publisher website ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 10.6Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 1.54LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 2.25LetPub ·
- h-index
- 92OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 583OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 3.25OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 13.5%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 80.08%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 124LetPub ·
- Articles per year (publisher) 2025
- 129Publisher website ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 413,405Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 1,132 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 93 | 74 | 25 |
| 2025 | 139 | 117 | 355 |
| 2024 | 79 | 67 | 632 |
| 2023 | 70 | 63 | 1,429 |
| 2022 | 62 | 41 | 944 |
| 2021 | 78 | 51 | 1,962 |
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
273 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 201 days – 392 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 16 days (89 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 300 days
- Sample
- 89 articles with submission and acceptance dates (243 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)
- 12%Publisher website ·
- Acceptance rate (publisher) 2025
- 12%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 14 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to first decision 2025
- 14 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance 2025
- 281 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication 2025
- 15 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 4,480 / EUR 3,750 / GBP 3,000 | — | — |
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)
Article types accepted8, with length limits
- book reviewForum section, the word limit is 6,000. Book reviews [NEW] Regulation & Governance occasionally publishes book reviews (maximum 1000 words) of books that we dee…main text ≤ 1,000 words
- book reviewsRegulation & Governance occasionally publishes book reviews (maximum 1000 words) of books that we deem to be of general and high relevance and interest to our r…Length not stated
- editorialThe acceptance criteria for all papers are the quality and originality of the research and its significance to our readership. Except where otherwise stated, ma…Length not stated
- original articleThe journal published original articles, review articles, as well as shorter articles and notes as part of Research forum or Symposium issues.Length not stated
- original articlesThe journal published original articles, review articles, as well as shorter articles and notes as part of Research forum or Symposium issues.Length not stated
- review articleThe journal published original articles, review articles, as well as shorter articles and notes as part of Research forum or Symposium issues.Length not stated
- review articlesThe journal published original articles, review articles, as well as shorter articles and notes as part of Research forum or Symposium issues.Length not stated
- shorter articles and notesThe journal published original articles, review articles, as well as shorter articles and notes as part of Research forum or Symposium issues.Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAuthorship, Data availability, Publication ethics, Open access, Preprints
- Authorship Authorship Changes
In accordance with Wiley’s Best Practice Guidelines on Research Integrity and Publishing Ethics and the Committee on Publication Ethics’ guidance, this journal will allow authors to correct authorship on a submitted, accepted, or published article if a valid reason exists to do so. All authors – including those to be added or removed – must agree to any proposed change. To request a change to the …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Data availability Data Sharing and Data Availability
This journal expects 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 ·- Publication ethics Publication Ethics
COPE member Model summary
This journal is a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). Note this journal uses iThenticate’s CrossCheck software to detect instances of overlapping and similar text in submitted manuscripts. Read our Top 10 Publishing Ethics Tips for Authors here. Wiley’s Publication Ethics Guidelines can be found at http://exchanges.wiley.com/ethicsguidelinesMembers of the Editorial Board who subm…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access WALS + standard CTA or Open Access
You may choose to publish under the terms of the journal’s standard copyright agreement, or Open Access under the terms of a Creative Commons License.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints
Preprints accepted Model summary
This journal accepts articles previously published on preprint servers.
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
- 1748-5983
- Electronic ISSN
- 1748-5991
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Regulation & Governance
What CAS zone is Regulation & Governance in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Regulation & Governance is in Zone 1 of Sociology, and in Zone 1 of the minor category Law / Public Administration / Political Science; it is a Top journal. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 1 of Sociology. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Regulation & Governance?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 5.08; CiteScore 10.6, h-index 92.
How long does peer review take at Regulation & Governance?
Based on the dates recorded on 89 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 273 days (interquartile range 201–392 days); the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 12% (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.
Which databases index Regulation & Governance?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Regulation & Governance is indexed in SSCI and Scopus. The journal's website also lists EconLit and Current Contents; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Regulation & Governance open access, and what is the APC?
Regulation & Governance is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 4,480.
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 2026-08-26). Last updated: .