نوع مقاله : مقاله پژوهشی
نویسندگان
1 دانشیار، گروه علم اطلاعات و دانش شناسی، دانشکده علوم تربیتی و روان شناسی، دانشگاه تبریز، تبریز، ایران
2 گروه توسعه اقتصادی و برنامهریزی، دانشگاه تبریز، تبریز، ایران
چکیده
کلیدواژهها
موضوعات
عنوان مقاله [English]
نویسندگان [English]
Abstract
Purpose: Energy consumption has long been recognized as one of the most important indicators of economic and social development, strongly influencing welfare, productivity, and quality of life. In the context of global warming, rising greenhouse gas emissions, and the depletion of fossil fuel reserves, the governance of energy consumption is a central concern in public policy. Both price‑based policies (such as taxation, subsidies, and tariffs) and non‑price‑based policies (such as renewable energy promotion, efficiency standards, and educational measures) are crucial instruments to steer countries toward sustainability. Although a growing body of research examines these approaches, a comprehensive mapping of how scholarship on price and non‑price energy policies has evolved across time, disciplines, and countries remains limited. This study aims to fill that gap through a bibliometric analysis that captures the scale, scope, and intellectual structure of the literature in this domain.
Methodology: The study adopted a documentary research design using a bibliometric approach. Data were retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection, covering the period 1985-2023. An initial pool of 341542 indexed documents was identified, from which 10086 articles classified under “Economics and Business” were selected as the analytical sample. The search strategy, conducted on 13 September 2024, combined systematic literature review principles with U.S. Subject Headings to capture relevant terms and synonyms. Only original research and review articles were included. Bibliographic records were extracted in batches of 500 in text format. Microsoft Excel was used for preliminary data cleaning. VOSviewer supported the creation of network visualizations and co‑occurrence maps, and HistCite was employed to perform growth trend analyses, enabling a multidimensional overview of scholarly activity.
Findings: Scientific output in the field of energy policy exhibited a strong upward trend across four distinct time periods, with the growth slope increasing from 3.62 articles in 1985 to 777.93 articles in 2023. The country collaboration network was examined across seven clusters. Overall, in terms of both publication volume and citation impact, China (Cluster 4), the United States (Cluster 3), and the United Kingdom (Cluster 2) ranked highest. Within this network, China, the United States, and the United Kingdom played the most prominent roles, with total link strength values of 2349, 1743, and 809, respectively. Co-authorship network analysis identified 13 major collaboration clusters, representing distinct research communities; among them, Cluster 9 exhibited the highest level of interconnectedness and included highly influential authors such as Dong Kangyin and Dong Xiucheng.
Based on keyword co-occurrence analysis, energy pricing policies were classified into six conceptual categories: energy market management; tariffs and energy export–import policies; subsidies and financial incentives; taxes and subsidies targeting industries and consumers; energy pricing mechanisms; and environmental taxes. Similarly, non-pricing policies were classified into six conceptual categories: energy consumption behavior management; urban, environmental, and social non-pricing policies; investment in and development of renewable energy; development of emerging technologies and infrastructure; efficiency regulations and emission reduction measures; and education and capacity building. The co-occurrence analysis of keywords further identified 45 non-price energy policies with higher frequency (74.24%) and greater total link strength (72.31%), compared with 31 price-based policies, which accounted for 25.76% of occurrences and 27.69% of total link strength. These results highlight the predominance of non-price approaches in the energy policy literature; although price-based policies have received less attention, they are still addressed in the literature.
Conclusion: This bibliometric study maps over three decades of research to document the interdisciplinary expansion of the energy policy literature, linking economics, environmental science, and the social sciences. The findings underscore that energy governance is no longer framed exclusively in terms of price mechanisms; instead, a broader paradigm has emerged in which price and non‑price measures are integrated into mixed policy packages. The emergence of themes such as smart meters, renewable innovation, and distributive justice signals a shift toward multidimensional approaches that align economic efficiency with environmental sustainability and social equity. From a policy perspective, decision‑makers should adopt holistic frameworks that balance price signals with supportive non‑price interventions tailored to national contexts. Such strategies are essential not only for reducing dependency on fossil fuels and cutting emissions but also for ensuring equitable access to energy and supporting the transition toward a resilient green economy. Ultimately, this research provides scholars and policymakers with a roadmap for understanding the intellectual landscape of energy governance and for shaping the next generation of integrated, sustainable energy policies.
کلیدواژهها [English]
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