A Decade of Debate: A Bibliometric Analysis of Minimum Wage Research in Economics (2015–2025)

Abstract

This paper provides a full-scale bibliometric analysis of the academic research output on the topic of minimum wage policies in economics from 2015 to 2025. Leveraging a rigorously constructed data sample of 4,195 WoS CC-indexed records, the research delves into the intellectual structure, thematic progression, and authorship patterns in the field. Visual network analysis through VOSviewer and statistical summarization with Microsoft Excel are used to map co-authorship networks, keyword co-occurrence, and citation networks, while identifying emerging trends and knowledge gaps. The results show a significant surge in scholarly interest in minimum wage studies after 2020, which reflects the economic uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Key themes among these papers are
gender wage gaps, informal labor markets, the role of education and family patterns in wage mechanisms,
and the links between wage policy, health equity, and social protection. Methodologically, the most successful work is based on panel data, natural experiments, and decomposition methods. Yet substantial gaps remain in interdisciplinary connections, particularly with respect to the relationship between wage policy, automation, climate change, caregiving, and public health. This review
not only presents the current status of minimum wage literature, but also provides strategic directions for theoretical development in the future. By focusing on underexplored areas and suggesting more comprehensive and interdisciplinary solutions, the research is relevant to larger debates on wage justice, economic justice, and labor policy formation with the aim of contributing to international development objectives.