Diaspora and human development based on scientific literature: guideline for future research perspectives

Purpose The diaspora phenomenon has a significant impact on human development, but it is seen that very less researchers have explored this area for developing economies and specifically regional level. This research aims to fill this knowledge gap of diaspora and human development themes (DHD) by evaluating global studies and proposing future perspectives and research agendas in this area. Design/methodology/approach The research uses a well-proven method of bibliometric analysis to understand the subject and identify the gaps. Data filtering was done by specifying “Diaspora” and “Human Development,” without limiting publication year, document type, author affiliation or document type. A file of 122 manuscripts published on Diaspora and Human Development (DHD) between 1987 and 2023 was retrieved from the Scopus database Core Collection for analysis. Findings The results of this study reflect the limited research interest in Asia and highlight the critical need to encourage further research in the region. The results highlight the evolution of study volume, most affiliated countries and cited documents, as well as keyword frequent occurrences. This study also includes thematic map that highlight eight themes of research throughout the period: economic development; human capital; knowledge transfer; social capital; transnationalism; capacity development; human right and acculturation (socio cultural transformation). This finding shows that these cross-cutting themes play a crucial role in the diaspora’s contribution to human development. Originality/value This research provides a better understanding of the relationship between diaspora themes and human development. Furthermore, it concludes by proposing future perspectives guideline and research agenda in this area.