Journal profile · Multiple
Review of Development Economics
ISSN 1363-6669 · eISSN 1467-9361 · Wiley-Blackwell
Review of Development Economics: CAS Zone 3 · Economics (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 2.42; hybrid open access; APC about USD 3,350; median 323 days to acceptance (103 articles, last 24 months); acceptance rate 9% (journal website); 204 articles in 2025; indexed in SSCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Review of Development Economics 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 Fiscal Policy and Economic Growth, Global trade and economics and Economic Growth and Productivity, together about 30.7% of its articles. Its main subfields are Economics and Econometrics. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
The Review of Development Economics (RDE) is a leading journal dedicated to publishing high-quality research in development economics. RDE publishes rigorous analytical papers, spanning theoretical and empirical macroeconomic and microeconomic analyses, which address contemporary development issues in low- and middle-income countries around the world. We particularly welcome innovative contributions in these areas. RDE serves not only as a link between researchers and practitioners, but also as a bridge connecting development economists with colleagues in related fields within and beyond economics. Although RDE is an academic journal, the materials presented are of value to policymakers, practitioners, and researchers, particularly those working in low- and middle-income countries. RDE is a double-anonymous peer-reviewed journal committed to publishing high-quality manuscripts on a wide range of topics in development economics. At the same time, we are dedicated to inclusivity, actively seeking to provide opportunities for researchers based in low- and middle-income countries, as well as female and early career scholars, without compromising our rigorous academic standards. We welcome contributions on a broad range of development topics, including but not limited to: Poverty, inequality, and human development Economic growth, productivity, and technological change The role of institutions, governance, and corruption in development Structural change Fiscal policy and debt Monetary and financial policy, and financial inclusion International trade, FDI, and global value chains Agriculture, natural resources, and rural development Urbanization, infrastructure, and spatial development Conflict, instability, fragility, and natural disasters Education, labour markets, and informality Health, nutrition, and social protection Population, gender, and demographic transitions Domestic and international migration Environment, climate change, and sustainability Aid effectiveness and global partnerships Innovations, digital technologies, and AI in development Insights from behavioral and experimental development economics The editors of RDE recognize the importance of timely communication of research findings to scholars, practitioners, and policymakers. Keywords economics, development, review, developing, world, countries, transition, economies, applied, policy, growth, theory, natural, resources, economic, technology, agricultural, migration, income, journal, research,
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Multiple
Editor-in-chief Sanghamitra BandyopadhyayPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 5 in mainland China (about 12%); most named United States 11, United Kingdom 9, Mainland China 5, Japan 4, Hong Kong, China 2 (41 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Fiscal Policy and Economic GrowthEconomics, Econometrics and Finance13.3%
- Global trade and economicsEconomics, Econometrics and Finance10.3%
- Economic Growth and ProductivityEconomics, Econometrics and Finance7.2%
- Poverty, Education, and Child WelfareSocial Sciences6.5%
- Income, Poverty, and InequalitySocial Sciences5.1%
- International Development and AidSocial Sciences4.3%
- Microfinance and Financial InclusionEconomics, Econometrics and Finance3.9%
- Agricultural risk and resilienceAgricultural and Biological Sciences3.6%
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 | Development Studies | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Economics | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Economics Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Economics | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Development Studies | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Economics | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Economics Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Economics | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Development Studies | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Economics | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SSCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
CAB AbstractsEconLitCurrent ContentsPublisher website
Other: ProQuest, RePEc
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
- 2.42LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 2.4Publisher website ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 2.4Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 4.5LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 4.5Publisher website ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 4.5Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.7LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.09LetPub ·
- h-index
- 96OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 899OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 2.13OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 4.2%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 27.82%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 194LetPub ·
- Articles per year (publisher) 2025
- 194Publisher website ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 209,207Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 2,166 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 115 | 39 | 37 |
| 2025 | 204 | 100 | 369 |
| 2024 | 105 | 52 | 498 |
| 2023 | 119 | 83 | 1,100 |
| 2022 | 124 | 48 | 1,309 |
| 2021 | 111 | 32 | 1,303 |
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
323 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 218 days – 545 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 15 days (107 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 336 days
- Sample
- 103 articles with submission and acceptance dates (333 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)
- 9%Publisher website ·
- Acceptance rate (publisher) 2025
- 9%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 16 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to first decision 2025
- 16 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance 2025
- 340 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication 2025
- 13 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 3,350 / EUR 2,770 / GBP 2,220 | — | — |
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
- First submission
- Free format: the journal's layout is not required
- Cover letter
- Required
Article types accepted1, with length limits
- regular articlebe as succinct as possible. We ask that Regular Articles are at most 9,000 words (including tables and references); we are unable to publishmain text ≤ 9,000 words
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAuthorship, License & copyright, Peer review, Plagiarism
- Authorship Authorship
All authors should be listed on the title page. Any individual that has made a significant contribution to the manuscript but that does not qualify as an author should be acknowledged separately.Individuals qualify as an author if they meet all of the following criteria:1. He/she has made a substantial contribution to the research reported, either in design of the study, or acquisition of data, or…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright Copyright
If your paper is accepted, the author identified as the formal corresponding author for the paper will receive an email prompting them to login into Author Services, where via the Wiley Author Licensing Service (WALS) they will be able to complete the license agreement on behalf of all authors on the paper.For authors signing the copyright transfer agreementIf the open access option is not selecte…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer Review
On submission of a manuscript for publication, the submission is checked for compliance with these author instructions. If the submission is complete, the Editor-in-Chief assesses the manuscript for suitability. A small percentage of manuscripts are rejected without peer review at this stage, for example if the article is inappropriate for the journal.All remaining papers will be sent for anonymou…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Plagiarism Plagiarism & Permissions
Authors will be asked during online submission to confirm that the submitted work is not published, in press or currently being considered for publication elsewhere.The Journal carefully scrutinizes all papers for evidence of plagiarism and falsified data using CrossCheck software. This encompasses the following:
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
- 1363-6669
- Electronic ISSN
- 1467-9361
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 30, Issue 3 (August 2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Review of Development Economics
What CAS zone is Review of Development Economics in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Review of Development Economics is in Zone 3 of Economics, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Development Studies / Economics. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 2 of Economics. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Review of Development Economics?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 2.42; CiteScore 4.5, h-index 96.
How long does peer review take at Review of Development Economics?
Based on the dates recorded on 103 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 323 days (interquartile range 218–545 days); the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 9% (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 Review of Development Economics?
According to the journal's author guidelines: First submission: Free format: the journal's layout is not required; Cover letter: 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 Review of Development Economics based?
Of the 41 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 5 (about 12%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (11), United Kingdom (9) and Mainland China (5). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Review of Development Economics?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Review of Development Economics is indexed in SSCI and Scopus. The journal's website also lists CAB Abstracts, EconLit and Current Contents; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Review of Development Economics open access, and what is the APC?
Review of Development Economics is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 3,350.
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: .