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Institution · Washington D.C. · United States

Cato Institute

In research, Cato Institute stands highest in Social Sciences (#5,226 of 14,833 worldwide), Social Sciences (#4,912 of 9,330 worldwide) and Political Science and International Relations (#1,305 of 2,238 worldwide), over all time.

cato.orgROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022-now
#17,861
of 22,385 · #12,924 all time
Rank in United States
#2,617
of 3,332
Research works
838
▼ 48% vs 2018-21
Citations
6.5k
7.8 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
6.8%
all institutions 10.0%
vs its own fields
0.95×
1.00× is exactly expected
Open access
65%
world 40%
International
17%
world 18%
Cato Institute

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 #5,226 of 14,833 6.2%645
Social SciencesField #4,912 of 9,330 7.6%345
Political Science and International RelationsSubfield #1,305 of 2,238 9.1%127
Economics, Econometrics and FinanceField #2,007 of 3,142 3.8%191

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 average mark, because the average differs by field (from about 6% in Dentistry to 21% in Economics).

Which fields of science does Cato Institute work in?

In 2022-now, 62% of research at Cato Institute is in Social Sciences, 17% in Health Sciences. Its largest fields are Social Sciences (37%), Medicine (13%), Arts and Humanities (11%). It does 2.3× the world's share of Social Sciences.

Social Sciences: 53 fractional works · 62.4% of its workSocial Sciences: 32 fractional works · 37.4% of its workSociology and Political Science: 11 fractional works · 12.6% of its workPolitical Science and International Relations: 7 fractional works · 8.1% of its workEducation: 5 fractional works · 5.6% of its workDemography: 2 fractional works · 2.0% of its workPublic Administration: 2 fractional works · 1.8% of its workLaw: 1 fractional works · 1.1% of its workDevelopment: 1 fractional works · 1.1% of its workHealth: 1 fractional works · 0.9% of its workGender Studies: 1 fractional works · 0.8% of its workCommunication: 1 fractional works · 0.7% of its workUrban Studies: 1 fractional works · 0.7% of its workTransportation: 0 fractional works · 0.6% of its workAnthropology: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workGeneral Social Sciences: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workLinguistics and Language: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workGeography, Planning and Development: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workArts and Humanities: 9 fractional works · 10.6% of its workArcheology: 3 fractional works · 3.3% of its workHistory: 2 fractional works · 2.0% of its workPhilosophy: 2 fractional works · 1.8% of its workReligious studies: 1 fractional works · 0.8% of its workLanguage and Linguistics: 1 fractional works · 0.7% of its workLiterature and Literary Theory: 0 fractional works · 0.5% of its workClassics: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workConservation: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workGeneral Arts and Humanities: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workVisual Arts and Performing Arts: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 5 fractional works · 6.4% of its workEconomics and Econometrics: 3 fractional works · 3.4% of its workGeneral Economics, Econometrics and Finance: 2 fractional works · 2.0% of its workFinance: 1 fractional works · 1.0% of its workBusiness, Management and Accounting: 4 fractional works · 4.1% of its workAccounting: 1 fractional works · 1.4% of its workStrategy and Management: 1 fractional works · 1.1% of its workOrganizational Behavior and Human Resource Management: 0 fractional works · 0.5% of its workManagement Information Systems: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workMarketing: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workPsychology: 2 fractional works · 1.9% of its workSocial Psychology: 1 fractional works · 0.8% of its workApplied Psychology: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workClinical Psychology: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workExperimental and Cognitive Psychology: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workDecision Sciences: 2 fractional works · 1.9% of its workInformation Systems and Management: 1 fractional works · 1.1% of its workManagement Science and Operations Research: 1 fractional works · 0.8% of its workHealth Sciences: 15 fractional works · 17.4% of its workMedicine: 11 fractional works · 12.8% of its workPublic Health, Environmental and Occupational Health: 1 fractional works · 1.7% of its workNeurology: 1 fractional works · 1.3% of its workInfectious Diseases: 1 fractional works · 1.3% of its workPulmonary and Respiratory Medicine: 1 fractional works · 1.1% of its workEpidemiology: 1 fractional works · 1.0% of its workRadiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging: 1 fractional works · 0.9% of its workOncology: 1 fractional works · 0.8% of its workDermatology: 1 fractional works · 0.8% of its workSurgery: 1 fractional works · 0.8% of its workRheumatology: 0 fractional works · 0.6% of its workCardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine: 0 fractional works · 0.5% of its workCritical Care and Intensive Care Medicine: 0 fractional works · 0.5% of its workOrthopedics and Sports Medicine: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workPhysiology: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workPediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.8% of its workHealth Professions: 3 fractional works · 3.8% of its workGeneral Health Professions: 2 fractional works · 2.5% of its workHealth Information Management: 0 fractional works · 0.6% of its workEmergency Medical Services: 0 fractional works · 0.5% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workVeterinary: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workSmall Animals: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workNursing: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workDentistry: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workPhysical Sciences: 11 fractional works · 13.5% of its workComputer Science: 4 fractional works · 4.2% of its workInformation Systems: 2 fractional works · 2.5% of its workHuman-Computer Interaction: 0 fractional works · 0.5% of its workComputer Vision and Pattern Recognition: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workArtificial Intelligence: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workComputer Networks and Communications: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workComputer Science Applications: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workEngineering: 3 fractional works · 3.7% of its workElectrical and Electronic Engineering: 1 fractional works · 1.4% of its workAerospace Engineering: 0 fractional works · 0.5% of its workAutomotive Engineering: 0 fractional works · 0.5% of its workSafety, Risk, Reliability and Quality: 0 fractional works · 0.5% of its workCivil and Structural Engineering: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workBiomedical Engineering: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workEnvironmental Science: 3 fractional works · 3.3% of its workGlobal and Planetary Change: 1 fractional works · 1.0% of its workEnvironmental Chemistry: 1 fractional works · 0.8% of its workManagement, Monitoring, Policy and Law: 1 fractional works · 0.6% of its workEcology: 0 fractional works · 0.5% of its workNature and Landscape Conservation: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.0% of its workEnergy: 1 fractional works · 1.4% of its workRenewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment: 1 fractional works · 1.4% of its workPhysics and Astronomy: 0 fractional works · 0.5% of its workAstronomy and Astrophysics: 0 fractional works · 0.5% of its workChemistry: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workMaterials Science: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workMathematics: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workLife Sciences: 6 fractional works · 6.7% of its workBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 2 fractional works · 2.6% of its workClinical Biochemistry: 1 fractional works · 1.2% of its workGenetics: 1 fractional works · 0.7% of its workMolecular Biology: 1 fractional works · 0.7% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workAgricultural and Biological Sciences: 2 fractional works · 2.6% of its workSoil Science: 1 fractional works · 0.7% of its workEcology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics: 0 fractional works · 0.6% of its workAgronomy and Crop Science: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workAnimal Science and Zoology: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workPlant Science: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workImmunology and Microbiology: 1 fractional works · 0.9% of its workApplied Microbiology and Biotechnology: 0 fractional works · 0.5% of its workVirology: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workNeuroscience: 1 fractional works · 0.6% of its workCognitive Neuroscience: 0 fractional works · 0.5% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workALL ITS WORKCato Institute85fractional works, 2022-now
Life Sciences7%Physical Sciences13%Health Sciences17%Social Sciences62%

Each ring splits the one inside it: the four domains of science, their fields, their subfields. Size is fractional works in 2022-now. Every slice is a page; the interactive view zooms down to single topics and colours each by how much more of it this institution does than the world.

Its 4 domains and 23 fields, with their numbers
    1. Social Sciences3237.4%
    2. Arts and Humanities910.6%
    3. Economics, Econometrics and Finance56.4%
    4. Business, Management and Accounting44.1%
    5. Psychology21.9%
    6. Decision Sciences21.9%
    1. Medicine1112.8%
    2. Health Professions33.8%
    3. Veterinary00.4%
    4. Nursing00.2%
    5. Dentistry00.2%
    1. Computer Science44.2%
    2. Engineering33.7%
    3. Environmental Science33.3%
    4. Energy11.4%
    5. Physics and Astronomy00.5%
    6. Chemistry00.2%
    7. Materials Science00.1%
    8. Mathematics00.1%
    1. Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology22.6%
    2. Agricultural and Biological Sciences22.6%
    3. Immunology and Microbiology10.9%
    4. Neuroscience10.6%
All of science, and how each field's share has moved since 1950: the Science domain explorer

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: 0.54× its world share, 2 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.49× its world share, 2 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 0.92× its world share, 1 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 0.38× its world share, 0 worksNeuroscienceChemistry: 0.14× its world share, 0 worksChemistryComputer Science: 0.53× its world share, 4 worksComputer ScienceEnergy: 1.55× its world share, 1 worksEnergyEngineering: 0.25× its world share, 3 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 0.67× its world share, 3 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.03× its world share, 0 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 0.08× its world share, 0 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 0.21× its world share, 0 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 0.40× its world share, 0 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 1.46× its world share, 3 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.67× its world share, 11 worksMedicineNursing: 0.49× its world share, 0 worksNursingVeterinary: 2.72× its world share, 0 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 3.67× its world share, 9 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 1.28× its world share, 4 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 1.92× its world share, 2 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 2.99× its world share, 6 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 0.64× its world share, 2 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 2.96× its world share, 32 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Arts and Humanities, 3.7×. Every wedge is a field page.

All 23 fields, with their numbers
  1. Arts and Humanities3.67×9 works
  2. Economics, Econometrics and Finance2.99×6 works
  3. Social Sciences2.96×32 works
  4. Veterinary2.72×0 works
  5. Decision Sciences1.92×2 works
  6. Energy1.55×1 works
  7. Health Professions1.46×3 works
  8. Business, Management and Accounting1.28×4 works
  9. Immunology and Microbiology0.92×1 works
  10. Environmental Science0.67×3 works
  11. Medicine0.67×11 works
  12. Psychology0.64×2 works
  13. Agricultural and Biological Sciences0.54×2 works
  14. Computer Science0.53×4 works
  15. Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology0.49×2 works
  16. Nursing0.49×0 works
  17. Dentistry0.40×0 works
  18. Neuroscience0.38×0 works
  19. Engineering0.25×3 works
  20. Physics and Astronomy0.21×0 works
  21. Chemistry0.14×0 works
  22. Mathematics0.08×0 works
  23. Materials Science0.03×0 works

Who are the top researchers at Cato Institute?

Ranked on the quality score, Robert A. Levy, Alex Nowrasteh and A. Trevor Thrall lead among researchers whose main affiliation is Cato Institute.

  1. 1 Robert A. Levy United States · #955,518 worldwide 1.2k citations · 67 works
  2. 2 Alex Nowrasteh United States · #999,419 worldwide 736 citations · 58 works
  3. 3 A. Trevor Thrall United States · #1,107,870 worldwide 550 citations · 26 works
  4. 4 John F. Glaser United States · #1,219,362 worldwide 153 citations · 20 works
  5. 5 Corey A. DeAngelis United States · #1,458,211 worldwide 586 citations · 98 works
  6. 6 Simon N. Lester United States · #1,513,321 worldwide 847 citations · 102 works
  7. 7 William A. Niskanen United States · #1,858,009 worldwide 8.9k citations · 169 works
  8. 8 Inu Manak United States · #1,889,225 worldwide 122 citations · 28 works
  9. 9 Gerald P. O’Driscoll United States · #1,996,048 worldwide 2k citations · 91 works
  10. 10 Sallie James United States · #2,165,965 worldwide 409 citations · 27 works
All ranked researchers at Cato Institute

What are the most cited papers from Cato Institute?

The most cited paper from Cato Institute is "Echocardiographic predictors of adverse outcomes in primary pulmonary hypertension" (Ronald J. Raymond, Alan L. Hinderliter, Park W. Willis et al., 2002), with 831 citations. Next come "Macro-Finance" (347) and "Synthetic commodity money" (329).

Most cited papers
#PaperReleasedCitations
1 Echocardiographic predictors of adverse outcomes in primary pulmonary hypertension Ronald J. Raymond, Alan L. Hinderliter, Park W. Willis et al. · Journal of the American College of Cardiology Open access Apr 2002 831
2 Macro-Finance John H. Cochrane · European Finance Review 30 Jan 2017 347
3 Synthetic commodity money George Selgin · Journal of Financial Stability 13 Aug 2014 329
4 Prostacyclin-induced acute pulmonary vasodilation in primary pulmonary hypertension. Lewis J. Rubin, Bertron M Groves, J. T. Reeves et al. · Circulation Aug 1982 316
5 Targeted in vivo expression of the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p21 halts hepatocyte cell-cycle progression, postnatal liver development and regeneration. Hua Wu, Mark R. Wade, Leonard Krall et al. · Genes & Development Open access Feb 1996 235
All 59 most cited papers, with filters and sorting

Which keywords describe research at Cato Institute?

By fractional works in 2022-now, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Globalization, Ethics, Religion, Human Rights, Social Capital, Neoliberalism, Philosophy 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-now 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. Globalization8▲ 4.6×25 topics
  2. Ethics4▲ 8.6×9 topics
  3. Human Rights4▲ 4.2×10 topics
  4. Religion3▲ 8.0×6 topics
  5. Education3▲ 2.1×12 topics
  6. Social Capital3▲ 6.7×7 topics
  7. Economic Growth3▲ 4.0×5 topics
  8. Public Health3▲ 2.2×12 topics
  9. Philosophy3▲ 6.8×6 topics
  10. Neoliberalism2▲ 8.1×7 topics
  11. Healthcare2▲ 2.5×9 topics
  12. Economic Development2▲ 3.3×5 topics
  13. Constitutional Law2▲ 19×5 topics
  14. European Union2▲ 11×5 topics
  15. Latin America2▲ 14×5 topics
  16. Public Policy2▲ 5.5×12 topics
  17. Equality2▲ 41×3 topics
  18. Governance2▲ 7.3×4 topics
  19. International Law2▲ 7.3×5 topics
  20. Property Rights2▲ 36×4 topics
  21. Catholicism2▲ 61×2 topics
  22. Civil Rights2▲ 34×4 topics
  23. Sociology2▲ 16×3 topics
  24. Theology2▲ 24×2 topics
  25. Political Economy2▲ 8.5×6 topics
  26. Social Dynamics2▲ 36×2 topics
  27. Behavioral Economics2▲ 36×2 topics
  28. Liberation2▲ 124×1 topic
  29. Multiculturalism2▲ 11×3 topics
  30. Public Opinion2▲ 15×3 topics
  31. Trade Unions2▲ 50×2 topics
  32. Feminism2▲ 6.0×4 topics
  33. Labor Market2▲ 6.1×4 topics
  34. Labor Movement2▲ 92×1 topic
  35. Policy2▲ 8.2×2 topics
  36. Union Revitalization2▲ 92×1 topic
  37. Human Capital1▲ 11×2 topics
  38. Income Inequality1▲ 12×4 topics
  39. Cold War1▲ 25×2 topics
  40. Iberian Peninsula1▲ 54×2 topics

Which research topics does Cato Institute publish most on?

By volume in 2022-now: 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 worksMetabolism and Genetic Disorders: 1 fractional worksPolitical Philosophy and Ethics: 1 fractional worksElectric Power System Op…1Electric Power System Optimization: 1 fractional worksEconomic Theory and Institutions: 1 fractional worksGlobal trade and economics: 1 fractional works
Sociology and Political SciencePublic AdministrationPolitical Science and International RelationsClinical Biochemistry3 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 Metabolism and Genetic Disorders Clinical Biochemistry 1 works
  7. 7 Political Philosophy and Ethics Political Science and International Relations 1 works
  8. 8 Electric Power System Optimization Electrical and Electronic Engineering 1 works
  9. 9 Economic Theory and Institutions Economics and Econometrics 1 works
  10. 10 Global trade and economics General Economics, Econometrics and Finance 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: 40% of research is openly available.

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

World: 18% is written across borders.

How has Cato Institute's research output changed?

Output in 2022-2025 was 48% lower than in 2018-2021.

still counting1990200020102020
grewheldshrank

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

Its share of all research

Growing output can still be a shrinking share: all of science grows. This is Cato Institute as a percentage of every work published that year, 0.00031% in 2024.

still counting0.0010%0.0020%Cato Institute0.00040% in 202519801990200020102020

Fractional works of Cato Institute over all fractional works that year. How the balance of science has shifted.

How much of it reaches the world top 10%

Year by year, against all institutions in the same year.

still counting5%10%15%all institutions10.0% in 2025Cato Institute7.6% in 202520102020

Of each year's output, the share that reached the world's 10% most cited for its field and year. Peak 11.5% in 2018.

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