High‐Income Dominance in Education Economics: Exploring the Publishing Divide

ABSTRACT We analyze over 3500 education‐related articles published between 2002 and 2022 in the top 22 economics journals, documenting striking geographic disparities. First, 85.7% of publications are based on high‐income countries, with the United States alone accounting for 58.4%. Second, there is a positive income‐publication gradient: wealthier countries receive more research attention. Third, countries with lower student learning levels are significantly underrepresented, even after accounting for GDP, population, and regional factors. Fourth, studies based on high‐income countries are more likely to make external validity claims. We explore whether this bias is offset by development economics journals and find that while low‐ and middle‐income country (LMIC) studies are more common there, even within LMICs, richer countries are disproportionately represented. Our findings suggest that structural features of knowledge production—including researcher location and funding concentration—are associated with persistent visibility gaps, with implications for equity, external validity, and global evidence‐informed policymaking.