Transportation and Economy: Two key sectors linked for more than 120 years

Abstract

Transportation has demonstrated its hegemonic position in the aftermath of the pandemic. In fact, despite the paralysis of many industries, transportation has continued its activity, demonstrating its value and resilience. As a result, it is one of the sectors with the more significant presence in global economies. Therefore, this research analyzes the thematic evolution of the relationship between transportation and the economy through scientific mapping and performance analysis. For this purpose, a study was carried out with all articles published on the Web of Science from 1900 to June 2022. The concurrence of authors, journals, research centers, keywords, documents, countries, and h-index was analyzed. SciMat and VOSviewer were used for insertion, de-duplication, normalization, categorization, analysis, interpretation, and graphical representation.The results have shown that, during periods of crisis such as the last pandemic, scientific production increases and the number of topics also doubles. However, sustainability, environment, and impact studies are the driving themes, so future lines of research may focus on different aspects or delve into relationships that do not only measure the economic and environmental impact of a transport infrastructure.