Mapping Global Research Trends On Carbon Tax Revenue: A Bibliometric Analysis

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the development, intellectual structure, and emerging trends of global research on carbon tax revenue through a bibliometric approach. The increasing urgency of climate change and the global transition toward low-carbon economies have intensified academic attention toward carbon taxation as both an environmental and fiscal policy instrument. This study employs a quantitative bibliometric analysis using 496 journal articles indexed in the Scopus database from 1990 to 2026. The data were analyzed using Bibliometrix and Biblioshiny in R Studio through performance analysis, citation analysis, keyword co-occurrence analysis, network visualization, and thematic evolution analysis. The findings indicate that research on carbon tax revenue has experienced significant growth, particularly after 2018, reflecting increasing global attention toward climate governance and sustainability policies. The literature is primarily structured around two dominant dimensions, namely carbon emissions and environmental policy. Furthermore, thematic evolution analysis reveals a transition from traditional environmental taxation topics toward broader themes such as sustainability, carbon footprint, climate governance, and integrated policy mechanisms. This study contributes to the environmental taxation literature by providing a comprehensive mapping of research trends and intellectual structures related to carbon tax revenue. The findings also provide policy insights regarding the growing role of carbon taxation within sustainable fiscal reform and global climate transition strategies.