Journal profile · Social Sciences-Sociology and Political Science
World Development Perspectives
ISSN 2452-2929 · Elsevier
World Development Perspectives: CAS Zone 3 · Economics (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 2.2 (journal website); hybrid open access; APC about USD 4,128; review about 287 days (submission to acceptance, publisher); 100 articles in 2025; indexed in ESCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
World Development Perspectives is published by Elsevier 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 Poverty, Education, and Child Welfare, Microfinance and Financial Inclusion and Agricultural Innovations and Practices, together about 27.4% of its articles. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
The multi-disciplinary journal devoted to the study and promotion of international developmentWorld Development Perspectives is a multi-disciplinary journal of international development and a companion title to the respected World Development . It seeks to explore ways of improving human well-being by examining the performance and impact of interventions designed to address issues related to: poverty alleviation, public health and malnutrition, agricultural production, natural resource governance, globalization and transnational processes, technological progress, gender and social discrimination, and participation in economic and political life. Above all, we are particularly interested in the role of historical, legal, social, economic, political, biophysical, and/or ecological contexts in shaping development processes and outcomes.We welcome contributions that offer constructive ideas and analysis, and highlight the lessons to be learned from the experiences of different nations, societies, and economies. World Development Perspectives recognizes 'development' as a process of change at and across multiple scales, involving a diverse range of actors at each scale. Keeping in mind this diversity, our objective is to build a rigorous understanding of the interactions between the relevant contextual factors and specific development interventions in explaining development outcomes. We aspire to create a forum that brings together development researchers, practitioners, and administrators from all domains, disciplines, and geographies.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Social Sciences-Sociology and Political Science
Editor-in-chief Roy MaconachiePublisher website
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named United States 15, United Kingdom 14, Germany 4, Belgium 2, Indonesia 2 (41 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Poverty, Education, and Child WelfareSocial Sciences10.8%
- Microfinance and Financial InclusionEconomics, Econometrics and Finance8.6%
- Agricultural Innovations and PracticesAgricultural and Biological Sciences8%
- Agricultural risk and resilienceAgricultural and Biological Sciences7.2%
- Conservation, Biodiversity, and Resource ManagementEnvironmental Science5.7%
- Child Nutrition and Water AccessNursing5.2%
- Innovation and Socioeconomic DevelopmentBusiness, Management and Accounting5.2%
- Income, Poverty, and InequalitySocial Sciences4.3%
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 3 |
| Minor | Economics | Zone 3 |
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 2 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
Database indexing
ESCIScopusLetPub
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)
- 2.2Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 4.4LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 4.4Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.79LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.31LetPub ·
- h-index
- 40OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 247OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 3.05OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 4.5%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 34.88%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 95LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 675 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 81 | 36 | 28 |
| 2025 | 100 | 45 | 242 |
| 2024 | 73 | 26 | 505 |
| 2023 | 55 | 20 | 432 |
| 2022 | 68 | 37 | 883 |
| 2021 | 79 | 28 | 1,254 |
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 2 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".
Figures by source
- Submission to first decision
- 38 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 162 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance
- 287 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 8 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 | EUR 3,350 / GBP 3,130 / JPY 2,680 | — | — |
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 prepare5 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- ≤ 250 words
- Keywords
- 1–7
- Manuscript length
- ≤ 5,000 words
- Reference style
- APA
- Highlights
- Optional
Article types accepted6, with length limits
- case reportPapers should be submitted in a form suitable for sending anonymously to reviewers (as may be required). We remind authors that Research and Review articles sho…main text ≤ 1,500 words
- discussionshorter Discussion, Case Report or Opinion pieces should not exceed approximately 1,000, 2,000 or 1,500 words, respectivelyLength not stated
- opinionPapers should be submitted in a form suitable for sending anonymously to reviewers (as may be required). We remind authors that Research and Review articles sho…Length not stated
- researchResearch and Review articles should contain up to 5,000 wordsLength not stated
- reviewResearch and Review articles should contain up to 5,000 wordsLength not stated
- review articlePapers should be submitted in a form suitable for sending anonymously to reviewers (as may be required). We remind authors that Research and Review articles sho…main text ≤ 5,000 words
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Authorship, Conflicts of interest, Publication ethics, 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 ·- Publication ethics
Ethics in publishing Model summary
Authors must follow ethical guidelines stated in Elsevier's Publishing Ethics Policy.
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
Double anonymized peer review Model summary
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 sharing allowed Model summary
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
- Elsevier
- ISSN
- 2452-2929
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about World Development Perspectives
What CAS zone is World Development Perspectives in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, World Development Perspectives is in Zone 3 of Economics, and in Zone 3 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 World Development Perspectives?
The journal's website gives an impact factor of 2.2; this is the journal's own figure, as LetPub lists none for it; CiteScore 4.4, h-index 40.
How long does peer review take at World Development Perspectives?
The publisher reports about 287 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 World Development Perspectives?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: ≤ 250 words; Keywords: 1–7; Manuscript length: ≤ 5,000 words; Reference style: APA; Highlights: 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 World Development Perspectives based?
Of the 41 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (15), United Kingdom (14) and Germany (4). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index World Development Perspectives?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, World Development Perspectives is indexed in ESCI and Scopus.
Is World Development Perspectives open access, and what is the APC?
World Development Perspectives is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 4,128.
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: .