From the ISI Web of Knowledge Journal Citations Report, here is the new top 5 of agricultural economics journals:
- Food Policy 2.044
- Agricultural Economics 1.739
- Journal of Agricultural Economics 1.545
- European Review of Agricultural Economics 1.544
- American Journal of Agricultural Economics 1.436
The number to the right of each journal name is the journal’s impact factor, which has been calculated on the basis of calendar year 2015 citation numbers.
This been a good year for agricultural economics journals–both Food Policy, which I edit, and the American Journal of Agricultural Economics (AJAE) at which I used to serve as associate editor, have seen their impact factor go up. One notable absence from the top 5 this year is the journal Food Security, which was ranked #2 last year.
Obviously, I am pleased that (i) our impact factor went up and (ii) we are ranked first in my discipline. All the credit goes to my co-editor Mario Mazzocchi, our associate editors, who also handle a lot of manuscripts, and the Elsevier staff we work with.
Again, that is only one top 5. The rank ordering might differ significantly depending on what other indicators of quality you look at, or whether you consider reputation. In agricultural and applied economics departments, for example, many still consider the AJAE the no-contest top journal in the field, no matter what impact factors say.
Update: Mario also informs me that Food Policy ranks 49th in economics, a category where there is a lot of serious competition.