Social Policy and Reform Studies
Social Policy and Reform Studies is a research topic within Political Science and International Relations. Science Explorer counts 44k research works in it since 1950. 34.8% of them reached the world's top 10% most cited for their field and year.
This cluster of papers explores the intersection of politics and economics in the context of welfare states, focusing on topics such as institutional change, globalization, income inequality, public opinion on redistribution, and the role of ideas in shaping social policies.
- Welfare State
- Political Economy
- Social Policy
- Institutional Change
- Globalization
- Income Inequality
- Ideational Power
- Public Opinion
- Redistribution
- Path Dependence
- Research works
- 44k fractional, since 1950
- In the world top 10%
- 15k per year above
- Top-10% rate
- 34.8% share of its works in the world top 10%
- Growth, 2013–17 → 2018–22
- +2% the tick is no change
Which countries lead Social Policy and Reform Studies research?
By volume, the United States and the United Kingdom publish the most (984 and 898 works in 2022–2025).
By volume, 2022–2025
- 1 United States 984 works
- 2 United Kingdom 898 works
- 3 Germany 865 works
- 4 Italy 322 works
- 5 France 205 works
- 6 Sweden 205 works
- 7 Spain 205 works
- 8 Canada 202 works
- 9 Australia 202 works
- 10 Denmark 172 works
How concentrated that is
The same countries as shares of everything the list above accounts for. A node where two countries do two thirds of the work and one spread evenly across twelve read alike as a ranking and not at all alike here.
Shares of the rows listed above, not of the whole node.
Which institutions lead Social Policy and Reform Studies research?
By volume in 2022–2025, London School of Economics and Political Science publishes the most Social Policy and Reform Studies research, followed by University of Oxford and University of Bremen.
By volume, 2022–2025
- 1 London School of Economics and Political ScienceUnited Kingdom 65 works
- 2 University of OxfordUnited Kingdom 52 works
- 3 University of BremenGermany 50 works
- 4 Sapienza University of RomeItaly 47 works
- 5 Roskilde UniversityDenmark 38 works
- 6 Aarhus UniversityDenmark 36 works
- 7 University of BolognaItaly 36 works
- 8 European University InstituteItaly 34 works
- 9 King's College LondonUnited Kingdom 33 works
- 10 University of ManchesterUnited Kingdom 32 works
Who are the leading researchers in Social Policy and Reform Studies?
The most-cited researchers publishing on Social Policy and Reform Studies include Joseph E. Stiglitz, Jo Moriarty and Alejandro Portes.
- 1 Joseph E. Stiglitz United States 7.4k citations
- 2 Jo Moriarty United Kingdom 4.8k citations
- 3 Alejandro Portes United States 4.7k citations
- 4 Patrícia Hill Collins United States 4.5k citations
- 5 Herbert A. Simon United States 4.2k citations
- 6 Charles Tilly United States 3.7k citations
Ranked by citations received across their whole record, among researchers with at least three works on this topic.
Where is Social Policy and Reform Studies research done?
The largest centres of Social Policy and Reform Studies research in 2022–2025 are London (United Kingdom), Paris (France), Berlin (Germany) and Rome (Italy). Among places with at least 20 works in it, it is an unusually large share of all research in Roskilde, Bremen and Konstanz.
Largest cities, 2022–2025
Where it is the local speciality
- RoskildeDK · 38.5 works36×
- BremenDE · 56.2 works23×
- KonstanzDE · 22.5 works23×
- KasselDE · 23.1 works19×
- MannheimDE · 23.2 works15×
Location quotient: how much more of its research is in Social Policy and Reform Studies than the world average.
Where is the best place to study Social Policy and Reform Studies?
Among universities, judged by research, European University Institute, Tampere University and Hertie School score highest, combining excellence, specialisation, size, growth and international reach. Research strength is one signal when choosing where to study; it does not measure teaching.
One dot per university in the table below. The upper left is the interesting corner: small places doing unusually strong work.
| # | University | Score | Top 10% | Specialisation | Works | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | European University InstituteItaly | 76.1 | 63.3% | 69.7× | 34 | +48.3% |
| 2 | Tampere UniversityFinland | 74.0 | 50.4% | 12.3× | 23 | +248.0% |
| 3 | Hertie SchoolGermany | 73.2 | 63.6% | 82.5× | 8 | +268.0% |
| 4 | Libera Università Internazionale degli Studi Sociali Guido CarliItaly | 70.0 | 58.2% | 40.8× | 11 | +173.8% |
| 5 | University of BergenNorway | 68.3 | 58.9% | 10.1× | 17 | +52.0% |
| 6 | Université Libre de BruxellesBelgium | 67.3 | 47.3% | 12.0× | 20 | +111.0% |
| 7 | Humboldt-Universität zu BerlinGermany | 67.2 | 54.9% | 8.9× | 20 | +105.8% |
| 8 | University of SussexUnited Kingdom | 66.9 | 64.9% | 11.1× | 14 | +22.6% |
| 9 | University of BathUnited Kingdom | 66.2 | 46.9% | 11.5× | 18 | +121.1% |
| 10 | Leiden UniversityNetherlands | 65.5 | 48.0% | 11.8× | 26 | +39.8% |
Universities only. Score blends excellence (30%), specialisation (25%), size (20%), growth (15%) and international reach (10%), 2015–2022; growth compares 2010–14 with 2015–19.
Is Social Policy and Reform Studies research growing?
Output in 2018–2022 was 2% higher than in 2013–2017, peaking in 2024. The fastest-growing topics are Social Policy and Reform Studies.
The same series as a ribbon — one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.
Which topics inside it are moving
Growth and decline on one axis around a shared zero. Two lists side by side hide the thing that matters: whether the growth dwarfs the decline, or the other way round.