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Institution · Washington D.C. · United States

Cato Institute

In research, Cato Institute stands highest in Social Sciences (#7,362 of 16,945 worldwide), Social Sciences (#5,689 of 10,206 worldwide) and Economics, Econometrics and Finance (#2,037 of 3,268 worldwide), over all time.

cato.orgROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022–2025
#26,784
of 28,054 · #27,701 all time
Rank in United States
#4,035
of 4,192
Research works
838
▼ 23% vs 2013–17
Citations
6.5k
7.8 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
6.3%
record average 16.5%
Open access
65%
world 28%

What is Cato Institute known for in research?

The fields where it stands highest, over all time, ranked among every institution above the floor in each field.

FieldWorld rankWhere that sitsTop-10% rateWorks
Social SciencesDomain #7,362 of 16,945 18.0%645
Social SciencesField #5,689 of 10,206 18.4%345
Economics, Econometrics and FinanceField #2,037 of 3,268 18.5%191
Political Science and International RelationsSubfield #1,818 of 2,376 19.1%127

Each strip is that field’s whole ranked pool, with the notch where Cato Institute sits in it, in the colour of the band that rank falls in. The track under the rate is the rate itself: it carries no world mark, because the world rate differs by field (from about 6% to 21% in this record).

Field profile

Location quotient across every field it publishes in: outside the ring is more than an institution of this size would be expected to publish, inside it is less.

Agricultural and Biological Sciences: 0.58× its world share, 2 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.52× its world share, 2 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 0.99× its world share, 1 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 0.40× its world share, 0 worksNeuroscienceChemistry: 0.12× its world share, 0 worksChemistryComputer Science: 0.54× its world share, 3 worksComputer ScienceEnergy: 1.61× its world share, 1 worksEnergyEngineering: 0.26× its world share, 3 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 0.71× its world share, 3 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.02× its world share, 0 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 0.09× its world share, 0 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 0.22× its world share, 0 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 0.43× its world share, 0 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 1.52× its world share, 3 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.59× its world share, 9 worksMedicineNursing: 0.14× its world share, 0 worksNursingVeterinary: 2.59× its world share, 0 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 3.95× its world share, 9 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 1.25× its world share, 3 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 1.63× its world share, 1 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 3.03× its world share, 5 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 0.69× its world share, 2 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 2.95× its world share, 30 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Arts and Humanities, 4.0×. Every wedge is a field page.

Who are the top researchers at Cato Institute?

Ranked on the composite score, Gerald P. O’Driscoll, Jagadeesh Gokhale and George Selgin lead among researchers whose main affiliation is Cato Institute.

  1. 1 Gerald P. O’Driscoll United States · #72,761 worldwide 244 citations · 28 works
  2. 2 Jagadeesh Gokhale United States · #76,168 worldwide 199 citations · 43 works
  3. 3 George Selgin United States · #132,017 worldwide 184 citations · 33 works
  4. 4 William Poole United States · #140,452 worldwide 156 citations · 44 works
  5. 5 William A. Niskanen United States · #151,658 worldwide 162 citations · 48 works
  6. 6 Simon Lester United States · #344,068 worldwide 14 citations · 25 works
  7. 7 Chris Edwards United States · #351,862 worldwide 77 citations · 20 works
  8. 8 James A. Dorn United States · #445,986 worldwide 17 citations · 27 works
  9. 9 Randal O’Toole United States · #788,718 worldwide 28 citations · 15 works
  10. 10 Doug Bandow United States · #1,050,049 worldwide 5 citations · 27 works
All ranked researchers at Cato Institute

Which keywords describe research at Cato Institute?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Globalization, Ethics, Human Rights, Religion, Philosophy, Neoliberalism, Social Capital and Latin America.

▲ more of its work than of the world’s◆ about the world’s share▼ less than the world’s

Size is fractional works in 2022–2025 in the topics tagged with each word; colour is the word's share of this institution's work against its share of the world's. The 40 words are chosen for being large and distinctive. Each links to the topic it comes from most.

All 40 words, with their numbers
  1. Globalization7▲ 4.6×25 topics
  2. Human Rights4▲ 4.5×10 topics
  3. Ethics4▲ 9.5×8 topics
  4. Education3▲ 2.3×12 topics
  5. Religion3▲ 7.5×6 topics
  6. Public Health3▲ 2.4×12 topics
  7. Philosophy3▲ 7.4×6 topics
  8. Social Capital3▲ 6.3×7 topics
  9. Economic Growth2▲ 3.7×5 topics
  10. Neoliberalism2▲ 8.8×7 topics
  11. COVID-192▲ 2.2×5 topics
  12. Healthcare2▲ 2.6×8 topics
  13. Constitutional Law2▲ 20×5 topics
  14. European Union2▲ 12×5 topics
  15. Latin America2▲ 15×5 topics
  16. Public Policy2▲ 5.7×12 topics
  17. Equality2▲ 43×3 topics
  18. International Law2▲ 8.1×5 topics
  19. Property Rights2▲ 38×4 topics
  20. Catholicism2▲ 63×2 topics
  21. Civil Rights2▲ 35×4 topics
  22. Sociology2▲ 18×3 topics
  23. Theology2▲ 25×2 topics
  24. Social Dynamics2▲ 38×2 topics
  25. Governance2▲ 6.5×4 topics
  26. Liberation2▲ 132×1 topic
  27. Multiculturalism2▲ 11×3 topics
  28. Public Opinion2▲ 16×3 topics
  29. Trade Unions2▲ 50×2 topics
  30. Feminism2▲ 6.7×4 topics
  31. Labor Movement2▲ 94×1 topic
  32. Policy2▲ 8.7×2 topics
  33. Political Economy2▲ 7.4×6 topics
  34. Union Revitalization2▲ 94×1 topic
  35. Social Movements1▲ 6.0×5 topics
  36. Behavioral Economics1▲ 31×2 topics
  37. Cold War1▲ 25×2 topics
  38. Iberian Peninsula1▲ 54×2 topics
  39. Inequality1▲ 7.2×6 topics
  40. Ethnic Minority Business1▲ 61×1 topic

Which research topics does Cato Institute publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: Religious and Theological Studies, Labor Movements and Unions, Migration, Ethnicity, and Economy and American Constitutional Law and Politics.

Religious and Theologica…2Religious and Theological Studies: 2 fractional worksLabor Movements and Unions2Labor Movements and Unions: 2 fractional worksMigration, Ethnicity, and Economy: 1 fractional worksAmerican Constitutional Law and Politics: 1 fractional worksRace, History, and American Society: 1 fractional worksPublic Health Policies and Education: 1 fractional worksHistorical Studies of Medieval Iberia: 1 fractional worksAmerican Political and S…1American Political and Social Dynamics: 1 fractional worksEconomic Theory and Institutions: 1 fractional worksElectric Power System Optimization: 1 fractional works
Sociology and Political SciencePublic AdministrationPolitical Science and International RelationsGeneral Health Professions4 others

Area is fractional works; colour is the subfield each topic belongs to.

  1. 1 Religious and Theological Studies Sociology and Political Science 2 works
  2. 2 Labor Movements and Unions Public Administration 2 works
  3. 3 Migration, Ethnicity, and Economy Sociology and Political Science 1 works
  4. 4 American Constitutional Law and Politics Political Science and International Relations 1 works
  5. 5 Race, History, and American Society Sociology and Political Science 1 works
  6. 6 Public Health Policies and Education General Health Professions 1 works
  7. 7 Historical Studies of Medieval Iberia Archeology 1 works
  8. 8 American Political and Social Dynamics History 1 works
  9. 9 Economic Theory and Institutions Economics and Econometrics 1 works
  10. 10 Electric Power System Optimization Electrical and Electronic Engineering 1 works

How open and international is its research?

Against the world’s own shares — the tick on each track. Both are shares of its output, so they sit on one scale and can be read against each other as well as against the world.

openly available65.2%not open34.8%

World: 28% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors17.2%domestic only82.8%

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has Cato Institute's research output changed?

Output in 2018–2022 was 23% lower than in 2013–2017.

1990200020102020
grewheldshrank

The same series as a ribbon — one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.

Other research institutions in Washington D.C.

All research institutions in Washington D.C.

Research measures only: rankings here say nothing about teaching, admissions or student experience. Comparable institutions and collaboration partners are in the interactive view on the map.