| By: |
Ali, M.;
Couto, L. C.;
Unsworth, S.;
Debnath, R. |
| Abstract: |
Energy research seeking to influence policy in low- and -middle-income
countries (LMICs) is often funded by – and conceptualised by authors in -
institutions from high-income countries (HICs). Research agendas and policy
recommendations determined in HICs potentially yield the most influence on
policymaking for LMICs. This leaves a multidimensional gap in how LMICs frame,
contextualise, evidence and enact policy processes. The unique contribution of
this paper is analysing the dynamics of prevalent energy research on LMICs
through a multi-method approach using bibliometric, network science and
regression-based techniques. An innovative data-driven framework was
established using a sample of 6,636 papers from the Web of Science database,
combined with journal impact data from Scimago Journal Ranking and country
economic data from the World Bank. Results show the existence of a cycle of
imbalances across research practices. Most papers recommending energy policy
for LMICs have a first author based in a HIC, funded by a HIC institution.
Total citations of articles on energy policy in LMICs increase with the GDP of
the first author’s country (a 1% increase in GDP is correlated with a 0.68%
increase in total citations). Funders support authors based in countries of
the same income band as them, or higher. Therefore, we recommend revising
research practices and HIC funding policies to place local actors and
knowledge at the heart of energy policy research, enabling high-impact
policymaking in LMICs. |
| Keywords: |
developing countries, Energy policy, energy research, funding, science collaboration |
| JEL: |
Q49 O39 I28 |
| Date: |
2022–03–05 |
| URL: |
http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cam:camjip:2207&r= |