Income Inequality and Wealth Distribution: A Bibliometric Study

Research on income inequality and wealth distribution has expanded rapidly over the past decade. Yet existing studies remain fragmented and lack a systematic overview of the intellectual structure, thematic evolution, and collaborative patterns shaping this field. To address this gap, this study conducts a comprehensive bibliometric analysis of 1,284 documents indexed in Scopus across more than 50 journals, covering the period from 2000 to July 25, 2025. Specifically, using VOSviewer, we apply co-authorship, co-citation, and keyword co-occurrence techniques to map the field's development and identify major contributors and research clusters. Notably, the analysis reveals that publication activity increased by over 220% after 2014, reflecting intensified scholarly attention following primary global economic debates. Furthermore, results show that research is heavily concentrated in the United States, the United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, and Spain, with the Paris School of Economics and the London School of Economics serving as central nodes in global collaboration networks. Additionally, the keyword structure demonstrates a shift from traditional economic measures of inequality toward multidimensional themes, including fiscal policy, poverty, migration, and environmental vulnerability. Ultimately, these findings offer new analytical insights into the evolution of inequality research, the intellectual influences at play, and emerging areas shaping future scholarship.