Do Fiscal Constraints Affect Health Inequality Research? A Bibliometric Perspective

Filomena Pietrovito (), Antonella Rancan (), Giuliano Resce () and Agapito Emanuele Santangelo ()

Economics & Statistics Discussion Papers from University of Molise, Department of Economics

Abstract: We conduct a bibliometric analysis to examine the evolution of health inequality research over nearly four decades (1986–2023), drawing data from Scopus, with the aim of analysing the influence of economists’ contributions to this interdisciplinary topic. We collect a total of 3,228 peer-reviewed papers using the keywords: "Health", "Inequality", and Economics" (including variations such as "economic" and "economy"). In the second part of the paper we assess the impact of external political and economic shocks, specifically the Fiscal Compact, on academic output related to health inequalities issues. To address this objective, a Difference-in-Differences (DiD) approach is applied, comparing research trends in countries that faced severe austerity measures with those that did not experience comparable fiscal constraints. Empirical analysis suggests that research output on health inequalities increased significantly in the aftermath of the Fiscal Compact in the affected countries. Our findings highlight how economic policies and austerity measures can influence academic research priorities, potentially as a response to increased societal concerns.

Keywords: Health Inequality; Bibliometric Analysis; Difference-in-Differences; Fiscal Compact. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A12 A13 E62 E65 H51 O38 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 43
Date: 2026-01-20
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