Specialization Trends in Economics Research: A Large-Scale Study Using Natural Language Processing and Citation Analysis

38 Pages Posted: 26 May 2023 Last revised: 11 Jun 2023

See all articles by Sebastian Galiani

Sebastian Galiani

University of Maryland - Department of Economics

Ramiro H. Gálvez

Universidad Torcuato Di Tella

Ian Nachman

Brown University

Date Written: May 26, 2023

Abstract

This article conducts a comprehensive analysis of specialization trends within and across fields of economics research. We collect data on 24,273 articles published between 1970 and 2016 in general research economics outlets and employ machine learning techniques to enrich the collected data. Results indicate that theory and econometric methods papers are becoming increasingly specialized, with a narrowing scope and steady or declining citations from outside economics and from other fields of economics research. Conversely, applied papers are covering a broader range of topics, receiving more extramural citations from fields like medicine, and psychology. Trends in applied theory articles are unclear.

Keywords: Evolution of Economic Research, Fields of economics research, Specialization trends, Machine learning, Natural language processing, Citation analysis

JEL Classification: A11, A14

Suggested Citation

Galiani, Sebastian and Gálvez, Ramiro H. and Nachman, Ian, Specialization Trends in Economics Research: A Large-Scale Study Using Natural Language Processing and Citation Analysis (May 26, 2023). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4460244 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4460244

Sebastian Galiani (Contact Author)

University of Maryland - Department of Economics ( email )

College Park, MD 20742
United States

Ramiro H. Gálvez

Universidad Torcuato Di Tella ( email )

Minones 2159
C1428ATG Buenos Aires, 1428
Argentina

Ian Nachman

Brown University ( email )

Providence, RI
United States

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