Journal profile · ECONOMICS
Theoretical Economics
ISSN 1933-6837 · eISSN 1555-7561 · Econometric Society · United States
Theoretical Economics: CAS Zone 3 · Economics (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 1.21; fully open access; APC about USD 840; review about 52 weeks (community reports); 45 articles in 2025; indexed in SSCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Theoretical Economics is published by Econometric Society 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 Auction Theory and Applications, Game Theory and Applications and Economic theories and models, together about 42.6% of its articles. Its main subfields are Economics and Econometrics. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Theoretical Economics aims to be the leading journal in economic theory. It publishes papers in both pure and applied theory. Papers with empirical or experimental content will be considered, though a paper must contain a substantial and innovative theoretical component to be accepted.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): ECONOMICS
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named United States 45, United Kingdom 4, Canada 2, Japan 1, Germany 1 (60 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Auction Theory and ApplicationsDecision Sciences15.9%
- Game Theory and ApplicationsDecision Sciences14.3%
- Economic theories and modelsEconomics, Econometrics and Finance12.5%
- Game Theory and Voting SystemsEconomics, Econometrics and Finance11%
- Experimental Behavioral Economics StudiesSocial Sciences8.6%
- Decision-Making and Behavioral EconomicsDecision Sciences4.7%
- Consumer Market Behavior and PricingBusiness, Management and Accounting4.1%
- Economic Theory and InstitutionsEconomics, Econometrics and Finance3%
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 | Economics | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Economics Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Economics | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Economics | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Economics Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Economics | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Economics | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview 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
- 1.21LetPub ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 2.3LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 3.3LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.31LetPub ·
- h-index
- 58OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 347OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 2.85OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 7.7%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 96.38%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 40LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 735 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 38 | 38 | 52 |
| 2025 | 45 | 45 | 73 |
| 2024 | 53 | 53 | 263 |
| 2023 | 57 | 57 | 400 |
| 2022 | 62 | 62 | 580 |
| 2021 | 58 | 58 | 583 |
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 PubMed · to
Too few articlesOnly 7 articles from the last 24 months carry both submission and acceptance dates, too few for a median
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
- Average review time (community reports)
- about 52 weeksLetPub ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 52 weeksDOAJ ·
- Peer review
- Unspecified 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 840 | Yes | CC BY-NC | |
| OpenAlex | USD 0 | — | — | |
| LetPub | No APC | No | — | |
| Publisher website | USD 100 | — | — |
Other charges and waivers (author guidelines)
- Page charges
- USD 24
- Submission fee
- USD 100
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
- Author–date
- Cover letter
- Required
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Conflicts of interest, Open access, Plagiarism
- AI use AI Policy
AI tool Refine used at conditional acceptance stage to identify technical and expository issues; not used to assess contribution or train AI models. Model summary
The Econometric Society recognizes the potential of AI tools to help researchers work efficiently. However, the use of these tools comes with caveats that reflect the limitations and risks of this rapidly evolving technology. Authors preparing a manuscript for Econometrica may use AI tools, but remain responsible and accountable for all content of their work. This accountability includes: The care…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest
Explicit conflict of interest policy. Model summary
TE has an explicit policy to prevent conflicts of interest.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access
Open access; all content freely available Model summary
Theoretical Economics is open access, so all content is freely available.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Plagiarism Similarity check.
Submissions screened for plagiarism via Similarity Check. Model summary
In an effort to prevent plagiarism, the Econometric Society subscribes to Similarity Check to screen its submissions. Submission to TE implies permission to check the submission electronically for plagiarism using the Similarity Check system.
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
- Econometric Society
- Country or region
- United States
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 1933-6837
- Electronic ISSN
- 1555-7561
- Official links
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Theoretical Economics
What CAS zone is Theoretical Economics in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Theoretical Economics is in Zone 3 of Economics, and in Zone 3 of the minor category Economics. 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 Theoretical Economics?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 1.21; CiteScore 2.3, h-index 58.
How long does peer review take at Theoretical Economics?
Authors report an average review time of about 52 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.
What are the manuscript requirements of Theoretical Economics?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Reference style: Author–date; 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 Theoretical Economics based?
Of the 60 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (45), United Kingdom (4) and Canada (2). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Theoretical Economics?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Theoretical Economics is indexed in SSCI, Scopus and DOAJ.
Is Theoretical Economics open access, and what is the APC?
Theoretical Economics is a fully open-access journal. APC about USD 840.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, DOAJ, Publisher website; 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: .