Unveiling the scholarly landscape of informal economy research amid the COVID-19 pandemic: a bibliometric analysis

Purpose Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, there has been a marked increase in scholarly attention to informal economy workers, as the crisis has revealed their deep-rooted structural vulnerabilities and tested their resilience in the face of unfavorable circumstances. This study offers a comprehensive bibliometric analysis of 577 documents focusing on the informal economy in relation to the recent global public health crisis. Design/methodology/approach The scientific literature, published between 2020 and 2024, was retrieved from the Scopus database. Utilizing BiblioShiny and VOSviewer, the study explored scientific publication trends, identified the most prominent contributors, and mapped the key research domains. Findings The analysis shows a significant surge in research interest, indicating that the COVID-19-induced crisis provided a distinct and more disruptive experience compared to previous financial crises. India ranks highest in publication count, whereas the United Kingdom leads in total citations. Keyword mapping reveals five main thematic clusters: (1) socio-economic impacts, (2) policy responses, (3) the precarity of migrant workers, (4) health-related concerns and (5) urban informality. Originality/value This paper offers a novel bibliometric analysis that exclusively focuses on scholarly work addressing the informal economy in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic.