COVID-19 and the Economic Crisis: Examining Global Impacts with Thematic Analysis

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted health systems and economies worldwide, creating a global crisis that necessitates international cooperation. The aim of this study is to explore research areas and thematic trends in publications related to COVID-19 and economic crises using co-word analysis. A total of 5094 publications, published between 2020 and 2024, related to the keywords "economic crisis" and "COVID-19" were examined using the Web of Science (WoS) database. The publications were analyzed using R Studio and the Bibliometrix package. The annual growth rate of publications related to COVID-19, and economic crises peaked in 2022. The initial publications in 2020 focused on the epidemiological definition of the pandemic, while from 2021 onwards, studies on economic impacts and crises gained more attention. Co-word analysis revealed an increase in research addressing the relationship between the pandemic and economic crises. The thematic map analysis identified key themes such as "COVID-19" and "financial crisis," which showed a high degree of centrality and formed the research focus, with these terms appearing in most of the publications. Additionally, niche themes such as "connectedness" and "stock market" pointed to specific studies examining financial connections and market dynamics. This clearly demonstrates how the interaction between COVID-19 and economic crises has evolved over time and how research focus areas have shifted. The study concludes that research addressing the relationship between the pandemic and economic crises plays a critical role in filling gaps in literature and in developing strategies for future pandemics. Future research problems could be structured to enhance the ability of countries and international organizations to cope with economic crises and develop strategies to prepare for future pandemics.