Development Southern Africa (DSA) is an internationally accredited, multi-disciplinary journal focusing on development policy and practice in the southern Africa region.
Founded in 1984, DSA has become an important forum for presenting area-based scholarship in the social sciences and encouraging articles that seek policy solutions to local and regional socio-economic development challenges. It remains the southern Africa journal of choice for several disciplines (economics, sociology, agricultural economics, development studies, political science, amongst others), and it publishes articles in respect of the key development issues in the region. These include poverty, unemployment, tourism, agriculture, business development, infrastructure development and other related development themes.
The journal encourages quantitative and qualitative policy relevant research articles, shorter research notes, book reviews and debates. As DSA is widely read by policy makers, we encourage authors to make policy suggestions based on the evidence conveyed in the article. DSA also welcomes proposals from guest editors for special issues, and encourages first time authors to co-author articles for such theme editions. DSA publishes six issues annually.
Peer Review Statement
All articles in this journal have undergone rigorous peer review, based on initial editor screening and anonymized refereeing by two referees.
Journal metrics
Usage
568K annual downloads/views
Citation metrics
1.3 (2023) Impact Factor
1.7 (2023) 5 year IF
4.2 (2023) CiteScore (Scopus)
Q1 CiteScore Best Quartile
1.026 (2023) SNIP
0.484 (2023) SJR
Speed/acceptance
10 days avg. from submission to first
decision
173 days avg. from submission to first
post-review decision
20 days avg. from acceptance to online
publication
19% 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.
Associate Editors Ronelle Burger - University of Stellenbosch, South Africa Daniela Casale - University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa Johann Kirsten - Bureau for Economic Research, University of Stellenbosch, South Africa Michelle Ruiters - Development Bank of Southern Africa, South Africa Jarkko Saarinen - University of Oulu, Finland and University of Johannesburg, South Africa Ivan Turok - HSRC, South Africa
Editorial Advisory Board Channing Arndt - International Food Policy Research Institute, USA Haroon Bhorat - DPRU, University of Cape Town, South Africa Andrew Donaldson - University of Cape Town, South Africa Murray Leibbrandt - University of Cape Town, South Africa Nomalanga Mkhize - Rhodes University and Business Day columnist, South Africa Kuben Naidoo - Reserve Bank, Pretoria, South Africa Nicoli Nattrass - CSSR, University of Cape Town, South Africa Carol Newman - Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland Busani Ngcaweni - Deputy Director-General & Head of the Private Office of the Deputy President, Presidency, South Africa Duncan Pieterse - National Treasury, South Africa Edgar Pieterse - SARChi Chair in Urban Policy, University of Cape Town, South Africa Dori Posel - University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa Abebe Shimeles - AFDB and University of Cape Town, South Africa Witness Simbanegavi - African Economic Research Consortium, South Africa Imraan Valodia - University of Witwatersrand, South Africa Servaas van der Berg – University of Stellenbosch, South Africa
Abstracting and indexing
Development Southern Africa is indexed by the following services:
EBSCO Database
Elsevier/Geo Abstracts
Thomson Reuters Social Sciences Citation Index® (SSCI)
Open access
Development Southern Africa 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.
Government Technical Advisory Centre (GTAC) and our publisher Taylor & Francis make every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (the "Content") contained in our publications. However, Government Technical Advisory Centre (GTAC) and our publisher Taylor & Francis, our agents (including the editor, any member of the editorial team or editorial board, and any guest editors), and our licensors make no representations or warranties whatsoever as to the accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any purpose of the Content. Any opinions and views expressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors, and are not the views of or endorsed by Government Technical Advisory Centre (GTAC) and our publisher Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of the Content should not be relied upon and should be independently verified with primary sources of information. Government Technical Advisory Centre (GTAC) and our publisher Taylor & Francis shall not be liable for any losses, actions, claims, proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages, and other liabilities whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with, in relation to, or arising out of the use of the Content. Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditions .
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