Unveiling the Evolution of Adaptation Economics: A Systematic and Bibliometric Review of Collaborations, Methodologies, and Research Frontiers 2010–2023

Adaptation economics is critical for guiding decision-makers in reducing climate vulnerability, evaluating the most suitable action while allocating scarce financial, human, and technological resources. However, this economic evaluation faces significant methodological challenges due to diverse contexts, intangible impacts, and uncertainties. This research aims to characterize academic trends, gaps, and opportunities of collaboration in the economic evaluation of adaptation over the period 2010–2023. Fifty-eight articles were selected following the PRISMA framework and were analyzed using bibliometric analysis, supported by R-Bibliometrix. Additionally, a thematic review of abstracts was conducted to identify economic evaluation approaches. Articles were included if they applied an explicit economic method. This study uses Scopus-indexed literature and abstract-based classification, which may limit generalizability. Across this corpus, the results reveal that adaptation economics, although conceptually evolved, remains geographically concentrated and methodologically fragmented. At the geographical level, research production shows 14.78% annual growth, yet this remains concentrated in the Global North, with limited participation from Latin America, Africa, and South Asia. At the conceptual level, the studies demonstrate a significant thematic transformation, moving from topics linked to diagnosis and planning toward concepts of greater complexity, such as uncertainty. In contrast, and although six methodological approaches were identified, conventional efficiency-based methods (such as cost–benefit) dominate 44.8% of applications. This analysis provides a research agenda to advance more context-sensitive and methodologically diverse economic approaches for adaptation decision-making. Recommendations include fostering South–South and South–North collaboration and developing practical and simplified decision support tools, especially for vulnerable regions.