The Journal of Development Studies was the first and is one of the best known international journals in the area of development studies. Since its foundation in 1964, it has published many seminal articles on development and opened up new areas of debate.
Priority is given to papers which are:
• relevant to important current research in development policy, theory and analysis
• make a novel and significant contribution to the field • provide critical tests, based on empirical work, of alternative theories, perspectives or schools of thought
We invite articles that are interdisciplinary or focused on particular disciplines (e.g. economics, politics, geography, sociology or anthropology), with an expectation that all work is accessible to readers across the social sciences.
The editors also welcome surveys of the literature in important fields of development policy.
All research articles in this journal undergo rigorous peer review, based on initial editor screening and anonymous peer review. Given the high level of submissions, a majority of submissions are rejected quickly with reasons.
Journal metrics
Usage
537K annual downloads/views
Citation metrics
1.8 (2023) Impact Factor
Q2 Impact Factor Best Quartile
2.9 (2023) 5 year IF
5.2 (2023) CiteScore (Scopus)
Q1 CiteScore Best Quartile
1.424 (2023) SNIP
1.029 (2023) SJR
Speed/acceptance
8 days avg. from submission to first
decision
92 days avg. from submission to first
post-review decision
27 days avg. from acceptance to online
publication
6% acceptance rate
Understanding and using journal metrics
Journal metrics can be a useful tool for readers, as well as for authors
who are deciding where to submit their next manuscript for publication.
However, any one metric only tells a part of the story of a journal’s
quality and impact. Each metric has its limitations which means that it
should never be considered in isolation, and metrics should be used to
support and not replace qualitative review.
We strongly recommend that you always use a number of metrics, alongside
other qualitative factors such as a journal’s aims & scope, its
readership, and a review of past content published in the journal. In
addition, a single article should always be assessed on its own merits and
never based on the metrics of the journal it was published in.
Usage and acceptance rate data above are for the last full calendar year
and are updated annually in February. Speed data is updated every six
months, based on the prior six months. Citation metrics are updated
annually mid-year. Please note that some journals do not display all of
the following metrics
(find out why).
Usage:
the total number of times articles in the journal were viewed by users
of Taylor & Francis Online in the previous calendar year, rounded to the
nearest thousand.
Citation Metrics
Impact Factor*:
the average number of citations received by articles published in the
journal within a two-year window. Only journals in the Clarivate Science
Citation Index Expanded (SCIE), Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI),
Arts and Humanities Citation Index (AHCI) and the Emerging Sources
Citation Index (ESCI) have an Impact Factor.
Impact Factor Best Quartile*:
the journal’s highest subject category ranking in the Journal Citation
Reports. Q1 = 25% of journals with the highest Impact Factors.
5 Year Impact Factor*:
the average number of citations received by articles in the journal
within a five-year window.
CiteScore (Scopus)†:
the average number of citations received by articles in the journal over
a four-year period.
CiteScore Best Quartile†:
the journal’s highest CiteScore ranking in a Scopus subject category. Q1
= 25% of journals with the highest CiteScores.
SNIP
(Source Normalized Impact per Paper):
the number of citations per paper in the journal, divided by citation
potential in the field.
SJR
(Scimago Journal Rank):
Average number of (weighted) citations in one year, divided by the
number of articles published in the journal in the previous three years.
Speed/acceptance
From submission to first decision:
the average (median) number of days for a manuscript submitted to the
journal to receive a first decision. Based on manuscripts receiving a
first decision in the last six months.
From submission to first post-review decision:
the average (median) number of days for a manuscript submitted to the
journal to receive a first decision if it is sent out for peer review.
Based on manuscripts receiving a post-review first decision in the last
six months.
From acceptance to online publication:
the average (median) number of days from acceptance of a manuscript to
online publication of the Version of Record. Based on articles published
in the last six months.
Acceptance rate:
articles accepted for publication by the journal in the previous
calendar year as percentage of all papers receiving a final decision.
Managing Editors: Jennifer Brass - School of Public and Environmental Affairs, Indiana University, USA Ronelle Burger - Stellenbosch University, South Africa David Fielding - Global Development Institute (GDI), University of Manchester, UK Oliver Morrissey - School of Economics, University of Nottingham, UK Richard Palmer-Jones - School of Development Studies, University of East Anglia, UK Emmanuel Teitelbaum - The George Washington University,USA
Administrative Editor: Judi Minost – School of Environment, Education and Development (SEED), University of Manchester, UK
Book Reviews Editor: Pritish Behuria-Global Development Institute (GDI), University of Manchester, UK
Please note that book reviews are by invitation only.
Editorial Board: Sonia Bhalotra - University of Bristol, UK Moussa Blimpo- University of Toronto, Canada Steven Block - Tufts University, USA Ronelle Burger - Stellenbosch University, South Africa Matthias Busse - Ruhr-University of Bochum, Germany Michael Carter - University of California, Davis, USA Lisa Chauvet
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Development, Institutions, and Globalization (DIAL), France Indraneel Dasgupta - Indian Statistical Institute, India Adam Moe Fejerskov - Danish Institute for International Studies, Denmark Elliott Green - London School of Economics, UK John Hoddinott - Cornell University, USA Vegard Iversen - Natural Resources Institute, University of Greenwich, UK Sohini Kar - London School of Economics and Political Science, UK Abbi Kedir - University of Sheffield, UK Krisztina Kis-Katos- University of Göttingen, Denmark Sunil Kumar - Kings College, London, UK Anirudh Krishna - Duke University, USA Robert Lensink - University of Groningen, The Netherlands Lauren MacLean - Indiana University at Bloomington, USA Edoardo Masset - London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK Trudy Owens - University of Nottingham, UK Sarmistha Pal - University of Surrey, UK Amber Peterman - University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA Amy Poteete - Concordia University, Canada Danielle Resnick- Brookings Institute, USA Indrajit Roy - University of York, UK Diego Sanchez-Ancochea - University of Oxford, UK Aaron Schneider - University of Denver, USA Ken Shadlen - London School of Economics and Political Science, UK Finn Tarp - University of Copenhagen, Denmark Neda Trifković- University of Copenhagen, Denmark Arjan Verschoor - University of East Anglia, UK Howard White - The Campbell Collaboration, Norway Updated 03-05-2024
Open access
The Journal of Development Studies is a hybrid open access journal that is part of our Open Select publishing program, giving you the option to publish open access. Publishing open access means that your article will be free to access online immediately on publication, increasing the visibility, readership, and impact of your research.
Why choose open access?
Increase the discoverability and readership of your article
Make an impact and reach new readers, not just those with easy access to a research library
Freely share your work with anyone, anywhere
Comply with funding mandates and meet the requirements of your institution, employer or funder
Rigorous peer review for every open access article
Article Publishing Charges (APC)
If you choose to publish open access in this journal you may be asked to pay an Article Publishing Charge (APC). You may be able to publish your article at no cost to yourself or with a reduced APC if your institution or research funder has an open access agreement or membership with Taylor & Francis.
The Journal of Development Studies ( JDS) invites the submission of proposals for Special Issues (SIs), which normally comprise 8-10 papers of no more than 9,000 words, including an Introduction. Proposals are considered by all five Managing co-Editors (MEs) who form a judgement on whether the proposal is suitable to proceed to invite submission of the papers for review. Proposals are considered three times a year: 01 February, 01 June and 01 October. Proposals received by these deadlines are evaluated together; although there is no explicit limit on the number of SIs that would be accepted for review, the Journal does not expect to publish more than two SIs each year.
Proposals are submitted by the Guest Editor[s] (GE) and should provide sufficient information to allow the MEs to form a judgement on what the SI would look like and the substance of the contribution. The GE[s] would set out the reasons for the specific SI, and how and why each of the submitted papers contributes (this may be a draft of the Introduction the GE[s] would write if the SI is accepted, but does not require detail on the individual papers). Extended abstracts of 500-1,000 words should be provided for each paper. These would include: a summary of the issue and context (i.e. what literature is being addressed), the methods applied and, where relevant, data (with sufficient detail on both for quantitative papers to show that technical issues are addressed), and the value of the contribution (what is new and why is it of interest).
If the proposal is accepted for review, all of the papers are sent to referees using the normal JDS process, and a ME is appointed to oversee the review process for the SI. GE(s) are invited to submit a list of potential reviewers for each paper, although decision as to reviewers lies with the ME who may choose other reviewers. GE(s) are also expected to have provided editorial guidance before first submission of each article, and to monitor authors’ responses to reviewers before revised papers are submitted to JDS. The ME has the final decision on revisions and acceptance, subject to the usual JDS procedures. Often, a number of the papers are rejected so some SI proposals end up as a Special Section of 4-6 papers.
JDS is interested in papers with clear implications for, and analysis of, low and middle income developing countries. Typically all papers would be original research contributions. If appropriate, one paper could be a significant literature review but more commonly a brief ‘scene setting’ literature review is incorporated in the Introduction by the GEs. It should also be noted that JDS accepts about ten per cent of all submissions so each paper must be of high quality and stand on its own merit for acceptance.
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