Herding Behavior in Young Investors: A Bibliometric Analysis

This study aims to investigate herding behavior among young investors, employing a bibliometric analysis to uncover trends, key contributors, and emerging themes in this research area. Herding significantly impacts market efficiency and stability. Using the Scopus database, we identified 279 relevant publications from 1994 to 2023, focusing on young investors who often exhibit low financial literacy and a propensity for herding. Our analysis highlights the United States as the leading country in this research domain, with notable contributions from authors such as Nisha Goyal and Satish Kumar. Using VOS Viewer and Publish or Perish, we analyzed the data and categorized the literature into four clusters: Psychological Factors in Financial Markets, Behavioral Finance in Emerging Markets, Future Generations for Tomorrow's Challenges, and Behavior Evaluation during the Pandemic. Emerging topics include risk aversion, cryptocurrency, and heuristic biases, with Prospect Theory frequently used to explain herding phenomena. This comprehensive overview provides valuable insights for policymakers, financial strategists, and future research directions aimed at mitigating the adverse effects of herding behavior on financial markets. This study is also useful for young investors to improve their investment skills by knowing more about herding behavior.