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

Sebastian Galiani, Ramiro Gálvez and Ian Nachman

No 31295, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

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.

JEL-codes: A1 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023-06
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-ain, nep-big and nep-sog
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Journal Article: Specialization trends in economics research: A large‐scale study using natural language processing and citation analysis (2025)
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