Economics Research in the Twenty-First Century — 25 Years of Scientific Breakthroughs

This study offers a systematic and comprehensive overview of the research in economics published throughout the first quarter of the twenty-first century (from the year 2000 to the end of 2024). To undertake the endeavor, every article published in each of seven selected top journals in the field has been classified according to a pre-specified list of one hundred keywords. Three keywords selected from the list were assigned to each article, given the subjects they cover and the methods of analysis they employ. The proposed exercise reveals a widely diversified science, which touches every aspect of human decision-making and human interaction, at every imaginable scale and regardless of geography. It is also a science that looks at the past to understand the future, and a body of knowledge capable of reinventing itself in the face of the evolution of society. Much more than before, economics deals today with such themes as income inequality, climate change, healthcare, education, and gender and race issues; while maintaining a close look at traditional micro and macro topics, such as market competition or business fluctuations. Methodologically, a gradual revolution has taken place, with natural experiments progressively becoming a fundamental tool of economic inquiry.