Topical disconnect between research and needs

The importance of author location

Bibliographic Data

ID24030232
AuthorsAna Lucia Kassouf (0000-0002-1931-5972, Universidade de São Paulo), Lucas Ronconi (0000-0001-7827-1570, Universidad de Buenos Aires, corresponding author)
Year2026
Pages1-16
Publication date2026-08-13
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueThird World Quarterly (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0143-6597 • E-ISSN: 1360-2241
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/01436597.2026.2712362
OpenAlexW7202384728
LanguageEN
References cited20

We measure the disconnect between the topics people care about and the topics covered in journal publications in 60 countries. We combine nationally representative opinion surveys and publication records from 14 economics journals during the last two decades. Our key finding is that the topical disconnect significantly varies according to the place of residence of the authors. Researchers located in the Global South are 25% more likely, than those from the Global North, to focus on topics deemed very important by local populations, which highlights that their publications are more strongly aligned with local priorities.

Focus (optics) · Focus group · Global South · Key (lock) · Measure (data warehouse) · Residence · Computational and Text Analysis Methods · Media Influence and Politics · scientometrics and bibliometrics research

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