Journals in Agricultural economics and policy

Agricultural Economics

ISSN: 0169-5150

As of 2005, no longer published by Elsevier. Please contact Blackwell PublishingAIMS AND SCOPEThis journal publishes articles covering the range of work done on agricultural economics, divided into three categories. (1) Disciplinary work: improvement of theories, techniques and descriptive knowledge of economics and its contributing disciplines such as statistics, mathematics and philosophy. (2) Multi-disciplinary subject matter areas: energy, technical change, institutional change, natural resources, farm management, rural communities, marketing, human development and the environment - areas which are important to fairly well-defined groups of public and private decision-makers facing well-defined sets of problems. (3) Problem solving: the definition, solution and management of specific practical problems. Work in each of these three categories may deal with teaching, extension and out-reach, consulting, advising, entrepreneurship and administration, as well as research. All of these may require knowledge of values, non-monetary as well as monetary. The Editor and Editorial Board, under the general direction of the IAAE's President, Executive Committee and Council, are charged with implementing Journal policy to serve members of the IAAE around the world.Listing of Published an Forthcoming ArticlesTo search on published and forthcoming articles of Agricultural Economics access ECONBASE at http://www.elsevier.com/homepage/sae/econworld/econbase/agecon/frame.htm

Agricultural Systems

ISSN: 0308-521X
5 Year impact factor: 6.4
Impact factor: 6.1

Agricultural Systems is an international journal that deals with interactions - among the components of agricultural systems, among hierarchical levels of agricultural systems, between agricultural and other land use systems, and between agricultural systems and their natural, social and economic environments. Manuscripts submitted to Agricultural Systems generally should include both of the following:substantive natural science content (especially farm- or landscape-level biology or ecology, sometimes combined with social sciences), and substantive analysis and discussion of the interactions within or among agricultural systems components and other systems.Preference is given to manuscripts that address whole-farm and landscape level issues, via integration of conceptual, empirical and dynamic modelling approaches.The scope includes the development and application of systems analysis methodologies (diagnosis, simulation and mathematical modelling, participatory modelling, multi-criteria assessment, trade-off analysis, participatory design, etc.) in the following areas:agroecology and the sustainable intensification of agriculture as well as transition pathways for sustainable intensification; decision-making and resource allocation in agricultural systems; the interactions between agricultural and non-agricultural landscapes; the multiple services provided by agricultural systems from food security to environmental services; adaptation and transformation of agricultural systems in the era of global change; development and application of tools and methods for agricultural systems design, assessment and management; innovation systems and multi-stakeholder arrangements that support or promote change and/or informs policy decisions; and big data and the digitalisation of agriculture and their effects on agriculture.The following subjects are discouraged:econometric, descriptive or other statistical analyses that exclude systems considerations, landscapes, land use change studies, or other economic analyses without substantive natural science content; development of typologies unless the typology developed forms the basis for further systems analysis; results from crop or livestock trials unless from systems trials or the results address systems issues; studies focusing on social or political outcomes that lack a clear systems framework and direct application to agricultural systems (i.e. the farm production system or landscape, their activities or components, their interactions or synergies); conceptual frameworks without empirical implementation (unless submitted as a short communication); studies focusing on specific chemical constituents of plant or animal species or their products; studies of the operation or efficiency of agricultural or food processing machinery, or of agricultural supply chains without a substantive biological component; life cycle analysis (LCA) studies that are primarily descriptive unless LCA is combined with other types of methods that address interactions within agricultural systems or between those systems and their environment.Such subjects are not considered for publication unless they clearly provide substantive and highly generalizable new insights regarding processes operating at farm or landscape levels or describe novel analytical methods applicable to a wide variety of agricultural systems.

Computers and Electronics in Agriculture

ISSN: 0168-1699
5 Year impact factor: 8.4
Impact factor: 7.7

Computers and Electronics in Agriculture provides international coverage of advances in the development and application of computer hardware, software, electronic instrumentation, and control systems for solving problems in agriculture, including agronomy, horticulture (in both its food and amenity aspects), forestry, aquaculture, and animal/livestock farming. Its new companion journal, Smart Agricultural Technology provides continuity for smart application being applied in production agriculture.The journal publishes original papers, reviews, and applications notes on topics pertaining to advances in the use of computers or electronics in plant or animal agricultural production, including agricultural soils, water, pests, controlled environments, structures, and wastes, as well as the plants and animals themselves. On-farm, post-harvest operations considered part of agriculture (such as drying, storage, logistics, production assessment, trimming and separation of plant and animal material) are also covered. Relevant areas of technology include artificial intelligence, sensors, machine vision, robotics, networking, and simulation modelling.When determining the suitability of submitted manuscripts for publication, particular emphasis is placed on novelty and innovation, and the degree to which a manuscript advances the state of the art for computers/electronics in agriculture. Applying existing technology to a particular crop for the first time does not qualify as an innovation in computers/electronics for this journal. Research applying off-the-shelf hardware or software, without augmenting such technology with investigator-developed tools, innovations, or unique approaches, should be submitted to its companion journal, Smart Agricultural Technology, whose scope includes applied technology. Manuscripts that apply computers/electronics in an ancillary fashion or focus objectives and conclusions primarily on the application sciences (e.g., entomology, agronomy, engineering, economics, horticulture) should be submitted to one of those respective science journals.The journal recognizes that the use of previously published data sets (either alpha-numeric, quantitative, or imagery) can be extremely beneficial as researchers develop and prototype new machine learning or machine vision algorithms with potential application to agriculture. However, the journal views this prototyping work as preliminary in nature, and prospective authors should, prior to submitting such work to this journal, generate a more scientifically rigorous data set, collected by the authors under controlled and reported experimental conditions.

Ecological Economics

ISSN: 0921-8009
5 Year impact factor: 6.9
Impact factor: 6.6

The Transdisciplinary Journal of the International Society for Ecological Economics (ISEE)The journal is concerned with extending and integrating the understanding of the interfaces and interplay between "nature's household" (ecosystems) and "humanity's household" (the economy). Ecological economics is an interdisciplinary field defined by a set of concrete problems or challenges related to governing economic activity in a way that promotes human well-being, sustainability, and justice. The journal thus emphasizes critical work that draws on and integrates elements of ecological science, economics, and the analysis of values, behaviors, cultural practices, institutional structures, and societal dynamics. The journal is transdisciplinary in spirit and methodologically open, drawing on the insights offered by a variety of intellectual traditions, and appealing to a diverse readership.Specific research areas covered include: valuation of natural resources, sustainable agriculture and development, ecologically integrated technology, integrated ecologic-economic modelling at scales from local to regional to global, implications of thermodynamics for economics and ecology, renewable resource management and conservation, critical assessments of the basic assumptions underlying current economic and ecological paradigms and the implications of alternative assumptions, economic and ecological consequences of genetically engineered organisms, and gene pool inventory and management, alternative principles for valuing natural wealth, integrating natural resources and environmental services into national income and wealth accounts, methods of implementing efficient environmental policies, case studies of economic-ecologic conflict or harmony, etc. New issues in this area are rapidly emerging and will find a ready forum in Ecological Economics.Ecological Economics Sections All submissions to Ecological Economics are reviewed using the general criteria of quality, creativity, originality, accuracy, and contribution to the field. There are several categories of articles to allow for a full range of constructive dialogue.News and Views Topical and timely short pieces reviewed by the editor and/or one outside reviewer at the editor's discretion. May include editorials, letters to the editor, news items, and policy discussions. Maximum 1500 words (600 words for letters).Commentary Essays discussing critical issues. Reviewed by two outside reviewers with the criteria weighted toward quality of the exposition and importance of the issue. Maximum 5000 words.Surveys Examination and review of important general subject areas. Reviewed by two outside reviewers with the criteria weighted toward importance of the subject and clarity of exposition. Maximum 8000 words.Methodological and Ideological Options Research articles devoted to developing new methodologies or investigating the implications of various ideological assumptions. Reviewed by two outside reviewers with criteria weighted toward originality and potential usefulness of the methodology or ideological option. Maximum 8000 words.Analysis Research articles devoted to analysis of important questions in the field. Reviewed by two outside reviewers with the criteria weighted toward originality, quality, and accuracy of the analysis, andimportance of the question. Maximum 8000 words.Book Reviews Reviews of recent books in the field. Reviewed by one outside reviewer with criteria weighted toward clarity and accuracy of the review, and importance of the book to the field. Maximum 1200 words.

Food Policy

ISSN: 0306-9192
5 Year impact factor: 6.6
Impact factor: 6.8

Food Policy is a multidisciplinary journal publishing original research and novel evidence on issues in the formulation, implementation, and evaluation of policies for the food sector in developing, transition, and advanced economies.Our main focus is on the economic and social aspect of food policy, and we prioritize empirical studies informing international food policy debates. Provided that articles make a clear and explicit contribution to food policy debates of international interest, we consider papers from any of the social sciences. Papers from other disciplines (e.g., law) will be considered only if they provide a key policy contribution, and are written in a style which is accessible to a social science readership.Policy issues that are relevant to the journal include: • Food production, trade, marketing, and consumption • Nutrition and health aspects of food systems • Food needs, entitlements, security, and aid • Food safety and quality assurance • Technological and institutional innovation affecting food systems and access • Food systems and environmental sustainabilityConceptual and methodological articles should be written so that they are accessible to the journal's diverse international readership. We normally do not publish review papers, although we might make rare exceptions for rigorous and critical reviews on topical issues.See also Elsevier's Economics Journals

Forest Policy and Economics

ISSN: 1389-9341
5 Year impact factor: 4
Impact factor: 4

Forest Policy and Economics is a leading scientific journal that publishes peer-reviewed policy and economics research relating to forests, forested landscapes, forest-related industries, and other forest-relevant land uses. It also welcomes contributions from other social sciences and humanities perspectives that make clear theoretical, conceptual and methodological contributions to the existing state-of-the-art literature on forests and related land use systems. These disciplines include, but are not limited to, sociology, anthropology, human geography, history, jurisprudence, planning, development studies, and psychology research on forests. Forest Policy and Economics is global in scope and publishes multiple article types of high scientific standard. Acceptance for publication is subject to a double-blind peer-review process.The journal publishes the following, peer-reviewed, citable article types:Research articles are full-length original scientific publications based on clearly defined methods and adequate dataReview articles provide a systematic, analytical overview of a specific field of scientific literature based on the analysis of existing international publicationsSpecial Issues consist of a collection of articles resulting from previous scientific exchange among a group. Potential Guest Editors are invited to submit proposals for Special Issues, including envisaged contributions, to any of our Editors.Commentaries are science-based, peer-reviewed, short communications formulated as one of the following types:Science Critiques critically discuss previous research published in our journal or in other high-impact outlets.Research Trends (including book reviews) identify emerging empirical phenomena and issues of importance that should be addressed by future research.Policy Forum are short commentary pieces on contemporary, internationally relevant forest or forest-related policy issues that enable researchers, policy makers, and practitioners to make timely contributions to policy debates.

Global Food Security

ISSN: 2211-9124
5 Year impact factor: 10.3
Impact factor: 9.8

Motivation for Global Food Security arose from concern about the difficulty for scientists and policy makers to keep up with the expanding volume of information published about the challenge of ensuring food systems are meeting human food safety and nutritional requirements whilst protecting the environment, securing livelihoods, mitigating against climate change, and reducing inequalities. The journal takes the food system to incorporate all levels of food production from the supply of agricultural inputs and agricultural production through to final consumption, and the wider technological, environmental, economic, political and social context within which this occurs.Global Food Security aims to publish papers that contribute to better understanding of economic, social, biophysical, technological, political, and institutional drivers of current and future food security at the local to global levels. It aims to stimulate debate that is rooted in robust scientific analysis, has strong interdisciplinary connections, and recognizes the trade-offs that often occur because of reconciling competing objectives and outcomes in promoting the needed transformation of food systems.While integration across academic disciplines is encouraged, papers on specific elements of Global Food Security will also be considered if they address important constraints and have broad geographical relevance. The goal is to publish concise and timely reviews and synthesis articles related to research on the following elements of food security and food systems:Food availability - ensuring there is enough high quality and socially appropriate foods at the local to global levels.Food access - ensuring economic and physical access to safe, nutritious, and socially appropriate food through reduced poverty, well-functioning markets and conducive food environments.Food quality – ensuring food is safe to eat and of a high nutritional quality; ability to utilize foods in a manner that is safe and nutritious and aligned with the socio-cultural roles of food.Stability, environmental sustainability, and climate change – ensuring agri-food systems are resilient and sustainable.Wider socio-economic context and impacts of food systems – agency within the food system and impacts of efforts to promote the transformation of food systems towards sustainable food security on poverty inequalities, socio-cultural contributions of food systems, etc.The types of articles the Journal publishes include:Strategic reviews of research from a wide range of disciplinary perspectives related to sustainable food security based on the best available science, in a clear and readable form that is accessible to a wide disciplinary and professional audience, thus bridging the gap between the biological, social, and environmental sciences.Original research that has relevance to sustainable food security at the local to global level and where the wider implications beyond the specific context of the study are made clear. Also, where advanced technical research and data analysis techniques are communicated clearly and understandably to a diverse disciplinary and professional audience.Reviews, opinion pieces and debates that synthesize, extend and critique research approaches, methodologies, and findings from the evolving body of original research on global food security and agri-food system transformation.Distinguishing features of Global Food Security include:Incudes multiple papers that address specific and timely issues of importance to sustainable food security and the related transformation of food systems.publishes authors who are recognized authorities in their field.a focus on sustainable food security and related processes of food system transformation from the local to global level.a focus on examining the implications of localised and context-specific research for sustainable food security more generally from the local to global level.sustained effort to make technically complex analysis understandable and relevant to a multidisciplinary audience.a focus on challenging current paradigms and seeking to provide out-of-the box thinking on the technical, economic, social, political issues around sustainable food security.Given this focus, Global Food Security is considered an invaluable source of information for researchers, teachers, students, professionals, policy makers and the international media.

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