Beyond Income-Based Approaches: A Bibliometric Assessment of Social Protection Research and Emerging Policy Gaps

This study critically examines the intellectual structure and thematic evolution of social protection research with a focus on identifying conceptual and policy-relevant gaps. Using a bibliometric analysis of 1,300 Scopus-indexed publications (2016–2026), this study uses keyword co-occurrence analysis, thematic mapping, and Multiple Correspondence Analysis (MCA) to uncover dominant research patterns. Findings reveal that, although social protection research has grown significantly and has developed into an interdisciplinary field, it remains focused on program-based and income-oriented approaches, particularly cash transfers and welfare interventions. In contrast, limited attention has been paid to integrated frameworks that capture multidimensional deprivation and evaluate overall system performance. This indicates fragmentation in the literature, with research streams remaining weakly integrated and insufficiently connected to comprehensive measurement frameworks. Importantly, this gap has direct implications for economic policy and targeting efficiency. The dominance of an income-based perspective can contribute to under-identification of vulnerable households and inconsistencies in resource allocation, particularly in contexts where deprivation extends beyond the income dimension. This study contributes by going beyond descriptive mapping to highlight structural limitations in existing research and by identifying the need for an integrated measurement framework that links social protection to multidimensional poverty. The findings provide important directions for future research and offer policy-relevant insights to improve the design, evaluation and effectiveness of social protection systems. JEL Code: I32; H53; O15