Last updated on June 14, 2017
From the ISI Web of Knowledge Journal Citations Report, here is the new top 5 of agricultural economics journals:
- Food Policy 3.086
- American Journal of Agricultural Economics 1.829
- Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics 1.826
- Journal of Agricultural Economics 1.795
- Agricultural Economics 1.758
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 2016 citation numbers.
This been a good year for Food Policy, which I edit: Our impact factor went up by more than one point, from 2.044 to 3.086. It’s also been a good year for the American Journal of Agricultural Economics (AJAE) at which I used to serve as associate editor, as the journal has seen its ranking go from fifth to second.
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, our reviewers, and the Elsevier staff we work with.
Also of note is that by impact factor, Food Policy ranks 26th across all economics journals.
As I mentioned last year when discussing the 2015 impact factors, 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.