IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/ibn/ijbmjn/v21y2026i4p69.html

Human Development and Sustainable Economic Growth: A Bibliometric Analysis and Future Research Agenda (2000 - 2025)

Author

Listed:
  • Saviour Ayertey Nubuor
  • Amy Afi Bonuedi
  • Angeline Ankrah
  • Yvonne Ayerki Lamptey

Abstract

This study examines the state of academic research on human development and sustainable economic growth. While related bibliometric reviews exist, this intersection has received less systematic attention. The study maps the field’s evolution, intellectual structure, and emerging directions, offering a future research agenda. A dataset of 68 publications indexed in Scopus (2000-2025) was analyzed using Microsoft Excel and R for performance indicators and VOSviewer for science mapping, capturing both descriptive trends and relational structures. This bibliometric analysis shows that publications have steadily increased, with a sharp rise after the 2015 adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals. The field is interdisciplinary but geographically concentrated in Europe, North America, and Asia, with fragmented collaboration networks. Thematic patterns reveal a shift from growth-centered models toward multidimensional approaches integrating sustainability, inclusion, and innovation. Emerging but underexplored areas include digital innovation, resilience, and human capital-environment linkages. Quantitative approaches dominate, though qualitative and mixed methods are gaining ground. This study provides a systematic bibliometric synthesis of a field that has received less attention, offering insights to guide future scholarship and policy. The analysis is limited to Scopus-indexed and English-language studies, which may introduce selection bias. Findings highlight gaps in regional representation and methodology, informing a future research agenda.

Suggested Citation

  • Saviour Ayertey Nubuor & Amy Afi Bonuedi & Angeline Ankrah & Yvonne Ayerki Lamptey, 2026. "Human Development and Sustainable Economic Growth: A Bibliometric Analysis and Future Research Agenda (2000 - 2025)," International Journal of Business and Management, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 21(4), pages 1-69, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:ibn:ijbmjn:v:21:y:2026:i:4:p:69
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://ccsenet.org/journal/index.php/ijbm/article/download/0/0/53374/58225
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://ccsenet.org/journal/index.php/ijbm/article/view/0/53374
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ridwan Lanre Ibrahim & Usama Al-Mulali & Kazeem Bello Ajide & Abubakar Mohammed & Fatimah Ololade Bolarinwa, 2022. "Investigating the Mediating Roles of Income Level and Technological Innovation in Africa’s Sustainability Pathways Amidst Energy Transition, Resource Abundance, and Financial Inclusion," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-27, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.

      More about this item

      JEL classification:

      • R00 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General - - - General
      • Z0 - Other Special Topics - - General

      Statistics

      Access and download statistics

      Corrections

      All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ibn:ijbmjn:v:21:y:2026:i:4:p:69. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

      If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

      If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

      If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

      For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Canadian Center of Science and Education (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/cepflch.html .

      Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

      IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.