Abstract
The study analyzes the intellectual structure of World Trade Organization (WTO) research, employing a bibliometric approach. The bibliographic information of 7203 publications in the WTO field published in the Web of Science Core Collection indexed journals over 1995–2023 was analyzed. The results indicate that the research on WTO has grown faster than that of regional trade agreements and the overall international business field during recent decades. It may partially be due to an increase in the number of active proceedings in the WTO dispute settlement body. The European countries are the major contributors to WTO research. The USA is the most productive and influential country, with 2070 WTO-related publications and an h-index of 100. In addition, the authors affiliated with institutions located in the USA have established strong research collaborations with those from China, England, Switzerland, and Canada. However, the contribution from China has grown faster in recent years. Global politics and international trade law have become highly impactful themes. As for future research avenues, the focus of this research corpus has gradually shifted from the Doha development round to a review of the trade dispute settlement mechanism and amendments to WTO laws for ensuring transparency and environmental sustainability.
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Ohlan, R., Ohlan, A., Chhikara, S. et al. Bibliometric Analysis and Review of World Trade Organization Research: Suggesting Future Avenues using WOS Database. J Knowl Econ (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13132-024-02134-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13132-024-02134-1
Keywords
- WTO
- Dispute settlement body
- International business law
- Content analysis
- Network analysis
- Web of Science Core Collection
- Field weighted citation impact