In March 2005, the first issue of Asian Population Studies appeared. A number of leading demographers agreed to contribute papers to the first issue of the journal, which helped bring it to the attention of the population community worldwide, but as with most new journals, the editor was concerned with ensuring that there were enough papers in the pipeline to ensure that each subsequent issue could be published on time. Happily, interest in the journal soon picked up, and the flow of submissions increased, enabling a growing focus on issues of quality. The rejection rate rose, always a good sign for a journal, if not for many of those hoping to have their papers accepted.
After being appointed founding editor of Asian Population Studies, I have continued to serve as editor over the past 11 years. In this work, I have been ably assisted by Associate Editors—first, Bina Gubhaju and then Premchand Dommaraju, and by an Editorial Committee and an International Advisory Board, the membership of which has grown to 29. The Asia Research Institute at the National University of Singapore (NUS) has supported the journal from the start, and helped to fund the position of editorial assistant, which has been filled by a succession of very able people whose work was absolutely crucial to the journal's success. Also crucial to the journal's success has been the work of reviewers, the unsung heroes of any journal. My sincere thanks goes out to all who have served in this role.
We were very happy that in 2012, Asian Population Studies was accepted by Thomson Reuters for abstracting and indexing in Current Contents/Social and Behavioral Sciences, Journal Citation Reports/Social Sciences Edition, Scopus, and the Social Sciences Citation Index. This is the acknowledgement of a journal's reputation and quality. The publisher, Taylor and Francis, gave active assistance in the process of gaining this recognition, and in this as well as in many other ways supported the journal in its development.
At some stage, an analysis should be conducted of the characteristics of the articles published in the journal to date—their topical and geographic emphases, the nationality of their authors, and other relevant matters, as well as trends in the journal's impact factor. Since 60 per cent of the world's population lives in Asia, a journal devoted to population studies in Asia is attempting to cover a vast geographic area, of diverse languages and cultures, and the countries ranging from some of the world's wealthiest to some of the poorest. The journal defines population studies quite broadly, and the editor faces the challenge of deciding in particular cases whether an article can rightly be considered to fall within the journal's scope.
On my retirement from the National University of Singapore at the end of 2014, I am also ending my work as editor of the journal, having nearly exhausted my stock of social capital accumulated over half a century by inviting (some would say begging and exhorting!) colleagues to review papers. I am handing over the editorship of Asian Population Studies to my colleague Professor Brenda Yeoh, who as well as being an internationally renowned human geographer is currently Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at NUS. I wish her every success in this role. She will continue to be supported by the International Advisory Committee, the Associate Editor and the editorial assistant. I am sure the journal will continue to prosper, providing a focus for a reasoned discussion of population trends, determinants and policy issues in this highly dynamic region.
Gavin Jones
Editor of Asian Population Studies 2003–2014