The Historical Roots (1880-1950) of Recent Contributions (2000-2017) to Ecological Economics: Insights from Reference Publication Year Spectroscopy

Abstract

Several contributions have examined the field of ecological economics using bibliometric techniques. However, none of those bibliometric studies has yet investigated the historical roots of the recent contributions to the field. The aim of this article is to fill that gap, enabling us to test and shed light on the received view that ecological economics is based on pluralistic and interdisciplinary foundations. To do so, we use citations analysis and reference publication year spectroscopy. We focus on the articles published in the journal Ecological Economics from 2000 to 2017 and study the references cited in these articles published from 1880 to 1950. We first examine the ten most influential cited contributions and identify the nine most influential reference publication years. Our results offer qualifications to the received view, supporting low interdisciplinarity and providing caveats concerning pluralism.

Keywords: Bibliometrics, Citation Analysis, Ecological Economics, Heterodox Approaches, Interdisciplinarity, Reference Publication Year Spectroscopy

JEL Classification: B20, Q57, B41