Since its founding by Erhard Fürst in 1976, Empirical Economics has evolved into one of the premier academic platforms for applied economics and econometrics. To mark this milestone, a recent bibliometric study maps out the success story, thematic evolution, and global network of the journal that is published by the Institute for Advanced Studies (IHS) in partnership with Springer Nature.
Themes and Global Connectivity
Over the past five decades, economic growth, monetary policy, business cycles, and forecasting methods have served as the core methodological and thematic foundation of the journal's published research. In recent years, global challenges have increasingly gained prominence, including climate change and environmental economics, income inequality, artificial intelligence and machine learning, innovation dynamics, and the economic fallout of global shocks such as COVID-19. Methodologically, panel data studies have surged in recent years, while pure time-series or cross-sectional analyses have become less common – a striking shift from two decades ago.
Using co-authorship and citation networks, the study also highlights steady growth in international diversification and intercontinental research collaboration. Today, the peer-reviewed journal remains distinguished by its fusion of rigorous econometric methods with policy-relevant empirical questions. Out of more than 2,400 annual submissions, only about 6% are accepted for publication.
Significance for IHS
The role of IHS as the birthplace of Empirical Economics underlines the institute's lasting contribution to establishing data-driven, empirically grounded economic research in Austria and Europe. Marking 50 years of publication highlights the long-term impact of IHS research initiatives on international academic discourse.