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Mapping the research of energy subsidies: a bibliometric analysis

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Abstract

A review of energy subsidy research from a bibliometric perspective was conducted. Based on the bibliometric method, a statistical analysis of energy subsidy–related publications from 1997 to 2016 was undertaken using the Science Citation Index (SCI) and Social Science Citation Index (SSCI) databases. A total of 1182 publications were retrieved, with a significant increase in the number of publications observed after 2006. The majority of these publications were within the disciplines of Energy & Fuels and Environmental Science & Ecology. Although the USA and China contributed the most papers, authors from 96 countries were involved in the various studies. The USA was the center of global collaborations, while other countries/territories mainly conducted bilateral or regional collaborations in their research activities. Five of the top 11 most productive institutes were from China, followed by the USA. The frequency of collaborations among institutes was relatively low. However, the institute–keyword 2-mode network showed that institutes had great potential to cooperate on a number of common topics. Five major themes were identified from the co-keywords analysis: general renewable energy research, bio-energies, sustainability, subsidies, and welfare. The findings, as a complement to previous conventional reviews, will be useful in future energy subsidy research.

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Acknowledgment

The authors would like to thank Professor Song Hong for his guidance on the bibliometrics.

Funding

This research is supported by the Scientific Research Project of Education Department of Hubei Province (Q20182202).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Resource and Environment, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430072, People’s Republic of China

    Zhen Wang

  2. School of Resources and Environmental Science, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430079, People’s Republic of China

    Zhen Wang, Yanwen Wang & Can Cui

  3. School of Low Carbon Economics, Hubei Financial Development and Financial Security Research Center, Hubei University of Economics, Wuhan, 430205, People’s Republic of China

    Sha Peng & Junyi Wu

  4. College of Resources and Environment, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai’an, 271018, People’s Republic of China

    Beibei Niu

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  1. Zhen Wang
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  2. Yanwen Wang
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  3. Sha Peng
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  4. Beibei Niu
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  5. Can Cui
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  6. Junyi Wu
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Correspondence to Sha Peng or Beibei Niu.

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Responsible editor: Philippe Garrigues

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Wang, Z., Wang, Y., Peng, S. et al. Mapping the research of energy subsidies: a bibliometric analysis. Environ Sci Pollut Res 26, 28817–28828 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-019-06025-w

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