Subfield · Development
Most cited papers in Development
What are the most cited papers in Development?
The most cited paper in Development is "Design Patterns: Elements of Reusable Object-Oriented Software" (Erich Gamma, Richard F. Helm, Ralph E. Johnson et al., 1994), with 21,853 citations. Next come "Maintaining knowledge about temporal intervals" (7,599) and "International regimes, transactions, and change: embedded liberalism in the postwar economic order" (4,470).
Showing 50 of 100 papers. Every paper with more than 854 citations is listed.
| # | Paper | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Design Patterns: Elements of Reusable Object-Oriented Software Erich Gamma, Richard F. Helm, Ralph E. Johnson et al. | 1994 | 21,853 |
| 2 | Maintaining knowledge about temporal intervals James F. Allen · Communications of the ACM | Nov 1983 | 7,599 |
| 3 | International regimes, transactions, and change: embedded liberalism in the postwar economic order John Gerard Ruggie · International Organization | 1982 | 4,470 |
| 4 | The Eclectic Paradigm of International Production: A Restatement and Some Possible Extensions John H. Dunning · Journal of International Business Studies | Mar 1988 | 4,343 |
| 5 | Does Oil Hinder Democracy? Michael L. Ross · World Politics | Apr 2001 | 3,423 |
| 6 | An institution-based view of international business strategy: a focus on emerging economies Mike W. Peng, Denis Y. L. Wang, Yi Jiang · Journal of International Business Studies | 3 Apr 2008 | 3,260 |
| 7 | Our common future: report of the World Commission on Environment and Development Robert H. Cassen · International Affairs | 1987 | 3,234 |
| 8 | The Theory of Economic Development Simone Raudino | 2016 | 2,987 |
| 9 | Institutions and the Resource Curse Halvor Mehlum, Karl Ove Moene, Ragnar Torvik · The Economic Journal | 2006 | 2,839 |
| 10 | Who Gives Foreign Aid to Whom and Why? Alberto Alesina, David Dollar · Journal of Economic Growth | Mar 2000 | 2,504 |
| 11 | Economic Shocks and Civil Conflict: An Instrumental Variables Approach Edward A. Miguel, Shanker Satyanath, Ernest John Sergenti · Journal of Political Economy | 22 Jul 2004 | 2,490 |
| 12 | The Rational Design of International Institutions Barbara Koremenos, Charles Lipson, Duncan Snidal · International Organization | 2001 | 2,365 |
| 13 | How Ideas Spread: Whose Norms Matter? Norm Localization and Institutional Change in Asian Regionalism Amitav Acharya · International Organization | Apr 2004 | 2,329 |
| 14 | An Anthropology of Structural Violence Paul Farmer · Current Anthropology | 24 May 2004 | 2,294 |
| 15 | Natural Resources: Curse or Blessing? Frederick van der Ploeg · Journal of Economic Literature | Jun 2011 | 2,208 |
| 16 | The Politics, Power, and Pathologies of International Organizations Michael Barnett, Martha Finnemore · International Organization | 1999 | 2,109 |
| 17 | US Food Aid and Civil Conflict Nathan Nunn, Nancy Qian · American Economic Review | 28 May 2014 | 2,044 |
| 18 | Power and Interdependence Robert O. Keohane, Joseph S. Nye · International Organization | 16 Aug 2013 | 2,028 |
| 19 | The Political Economy of the Resource Curse Michael L. Ross · World Politics | 1999 | 2,000 |
| 20 | Infrastructure, Geographical Disadvantage, Transport Costs, and Trade Nuno Limão · The World Bank Economic Review | Oct 2001 | 1,925 |
| 21 | After hegemony: cooperation and discord in the world political economy Barry G. Buzan · International Affairs | Apr 1985 | 1,817 |
| 22 | Power in International Politics Michael Barnett, Raymond D. Duvall · International Organization | 2005 | 1,791 |
| 23 | Why States Act through Formal International Organizations Kenneth Wayne Abbott, Duncan Snidal · Journal of Conflict Resolution | Feb 1998 | 1,776 |
| 24 | Unpacking 'Participation': models, meanings and practices Andréa Cornwall · Community Development Journal | 5 Jun 2008 | 1,711 |
| 25 | Political foundations of the resource curse James A. Robinson, Ragnar Torvik, Thierry Verdier · Journal of Development Economics | 21 Mar 2006 | 1,674 |
| 26 | Handbook of development economics Jaime de Mélo · Journal of Development Economics | Apr 1992 | 1,653 |
| 27 | Activists Beyond Borders: Advocacy Networks in International Politics David G. Skidmore · Political Science Quarterly | 1999 | 1,647 |
| 28 | The Globalization of Liberalization: Policy Diffusion in the International Political Economy Beth A. Simmons, Zachary Elkins · American Political Science Review | Feb 2004 | 1,639 |
| 29 | Accountability and Abuses of Power in World Politics Ruth W. Grant, Robert O. Keohane · American Political Science Review | Feb 2005 | 1,610 |
| 30 | Tcl and the Tk Toolkit John K. Ousterhout | 1994 | 1,605 |
| 31 | Collective Identity Formation and the International State Alexander E. Wendt · American Political Science Review | Jun 1994 | 1,578 |
| 32 | Foreign Assistance and Economic Development Hollis B. Chenery · Palgrave Macmillan UK eBooks | 1967 | 1,572 |
| 33 | After Hegemony : Cooperation and Discord in the World Political Economy Charles Merrifeld · Journal of Economic Issues | Jun 1985 | 1,527 |
| 34 | Nested Analysis as a Mixed-Method Strategy for Comparative Research Evan S. Lieberman · American Political Science Review | Aug 2005 | 1,520 |
| 35 | Quasi-States: Sovereignty, International Relations and the Third World Andrew John Pierre, Robert Howard Jackson · Foreign Affairs | 1991 | 1,511 |
| 36 | A third wave of autocratization is here: what is new about it? Anna Lührmann, Staffan I. Lindberg · Democratization | Mar 2019 | 1,493 |
| 37 | The Internationalization of Chinese Firms: A Case for Theoretical Extension? John Child, Suzana B. Rodrigues · Management and Organization Review | Nov 2005 | 1,450 |
| 38 | Reinventing strategies for emerging markets: beyond the transnational model Ted London, Stuart L. Hart · Journal of International Business Studies | 19 Aug 2004 | 1,450 |
| 39 | Achieving Cooperation under Anarchy: Strategies and Institutions Robert Axelrod, Robert O. Keohane · World Politics | Oct 1985 | 1,438 |
| 40 | Democratic Experiments in Africa: Regime Transitions in Comparative Perspective Gail M. Gerhart, Michaël Bratton, Nicholas van de Walle · Foreign Affairs | 1998 | 1,430 |
| 41 | Proximity and Localization André Torre, Alain Rallet · Regional Studies | 14 Jan 2005 | 1,427 |
| 42 | Human Rights in a Globalizing World: The Paradox of Empty Promises Emilie Marie Hafner-Burton, Kiyoteru Tsutsui · American Journal of Sociology | Mar 2005 | 1,425 |
| 43 | Trade Liberalization and Growth: New Evidence Romain T. Wacziarg, Karen Horn Welch · The World Bank Economic Review | 2008 | 1,370 |
| 44 | The big push, natural resource booms and growth Jeffrey David Sachs, Andrew M. Warner · Journal of Development Economics | Jun 1999 | 1,361 |
| 45 | Aid and growth regressions Henrik Steen Hansen, Finn Tarp · Journal of Development Economics | Apr 2001 | 1,354 |
| 46 | Government action, social capital and development: Reviewing the evidence on synergy Peter Evans · World Development | Jun 1996 | 1,338 |
| 47 | The Global Diffusion of Public Policies: Social Construction, Coercion, Competition, or Learning? Frank R. Dobbin, Beth A. Simmons, Geoffrey Garrett · Annual Review of Sociology | 25 Jun 2007 | 1,304 |
| 48 | Instruments, Randomization, and Learning about Development Angus Deaton · Journal of Economic Literature | Jun 2010 | 1,295 |
| 49 | The Constructive Turn in International Relations Theory Jeffrey T. Checkel · World Politics | 1998 | 1,281 |
| 50 | Do exports generate higher productivity? Evidence from Slovenia Jan De Loecker · Journal of International Economics | 23 May 2007 | 1,267 |
Citations are OpenAlex's own counts, from its 2026-09-23 snapshot, so the ranking can differ from Google Scholar or Web of Science. A paper is listed for a field when OpenAlex files it under one of the field's topics; retracted papers and papers whose citation count cannot be traced to citing works are left out, and a preprint and the article it became are shown once. Release dates are OpenAlex's: where a source gave only a month or a year, that is what is shown. How the lists are chosen.