What to Look for When Choosing a Journal
Before submitting your research, evaluate journals on these key criteria:
- Development focus — poverty, inequality, growth, and economic development in LMIC contexts
- Causal empirics — RCTs, natural experiments, and rigorous impact evaluation methods
- Open access to reach development agencies, NGOs, and policymakers in developing countries
- Fast review for time-sensitive development policy research
- Global South research focus — Africa, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Latin America
- Acceptance of mixed methods and qualitative development economics research
Recommended Journals — Cluster 7: Finance, Accounting & Economics
All journals below are published by Keith Publications — open access, peer-reviewed, and indexed for global discoverability.
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Journal of Financial Economics and Management
(JFEM)
Financial economics, corporate finance, investment management, financial markets, monetary policy, and the economics of financial systems and institutions.
Financial Economics Corporate Finance Investment Management Financial Markets -
Journal of Accounting and Financial Reporting
(JAFR)
Financial accounting, management accounting, auditing, corporate governance, financial reporting standards, and the intersection of accounting with regulation and public policy.
Financial Accounting Auditing Corporate Governance Financial Reporting -
International Journal of Banking and Financial Services
(IJBFS)
Banking systems, financial services regulation, fintech, digital banking, risk management, financial inclusion, and the stability of global financial institutions.
Banking Systems Financial Services Fintech Risk Management -
Economics and Social Policy Research Journal
(ESPRJ)
Applied economics, development economics, fiscal and monetary policy, social policy evaluation, labour economics, and the economics of welfare, health, and education.
Applied Economics Development Economics Fiscal Policy Social Policy
Fast Publication: All Keith Publications journals complete initial review within 2–5 business days and full peer review within 2–4 weeks. Articles are published online within 5–10 days of acceptance — making us one of the fastest open access publishers in finance, accounting, and economics.
Core Research Areas in Development Economics
Keith Publications development economics journals accept research on: poverty measurement, dynamics, and the poverty trap; income inequality — Gini coefficients, redistribution, and inclusive growth; agricultural economics — smallholder productivity, land reform, and food security; health economics in developing countries — healthcare access, malnutrition, and disease burden; education in development — returns to schooling, school quality, and education-poverty links; microfinance and financial inclusion in developing economies; foreign aid effectiveness and development finance; governance, corruption, and institutional quality in development; trade and development — export-led growth and global value chain integration; and the economics of conflict and post-conflict reconstruction.
Open Access and the Global Development Research Imperative
Development economics research is uniquely dependent on open access publication. The researchers, policymakers, and communities most affected by development economics questions — in sub-Saharan Africa, South and Southeast Asia, Latin America, and other low-income regions — often lack access to subscription-based academic journals. Keith Publications' open access publishing model ensures that research on poverty, inequality, and development finance reaches the local researchers, government ministries, NGO staff, and civil society organisations in the countries where this knowledge is most urgently needed.
Tips to Maximise Your Acceptance Chances
- Align your topic with the journal's scope — confirm your research fits the journal's finance, accounting, or economics focus area.
- Establish clear research questions — finance and economics editors expect precise, testable hypotheses or well-defined research questions.
- Address endogeneity and identification — be explicit about your causal identification strategy and its limitations.
- Use appropriate data and methodology — match your econometric or quantitative methods to your research question and data structure.
- Follow formatting guidelines exactly — non-compliant manuscripts are often desk-rejected without review.
- State practical and policy implications — explain how your findings inform investors, regulators, policymakers, or practitioners.
- Ensure robust robustness checks — include alternative specifications, subsample analyses, and placebo tests to strengthen your empirical claims.
Frequently Asked Questions
Related Research Guides
Explore other research journal guides in the Finance, Accounting & Economics cluster: