Knowledge Mapping of Optimal Taxation Studies: A Bibliometric Analysis and Network Visualization

Abstract

The problem of tax policy design has been an important concern over the years, involving comprehensive scientific research. In this study, our major goal was to examine and map the optimal taxation research thematic structure by using bibliometric analysis. The analysis was carried out with the CiteSpace software on publications indexed by Web of Science (WoS) between 1975 and 2021. This document offers an actual bibliometric analysis of the current research climate in terms of optimal taxation, based on the following aspects: (1) descriptive characteristics of publication outputs (distribution by years, authors, countries, journals); (2) collaboration analysis of authors, institutions, and countries; (3) co‐citation analysis of cited journals, cited authors, and cited refer-ences; and (4) keywords’ co‐occurrence analysis. We constructed a knowledge map about optimal taxation research to provide a wide visual brief of the actual research in the domain of optimal tax policy. The current study adds knowledge by presenting the state of the art of the most significant studies published in the field of optimal taxation research.