Systematic and Bibliometric Review of Neuroeconomics and Neurofinance Research: Current Status, Thematic Trends, and Future Directions

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ABSTRACTThe aim of this study is to provide a systematic and bibliometric overview of neuroeconomics and neurofinance research. The study analyzes 507 articles published in peer‐reviewed journals in the Web of Science (WoS) database spanning from 1994 to February 2024. The research is conducted in two phases; initially, a performance analysis, followed by a science mapping analysis. Through performance analysis, we pinpoint significant authors, notable journals, leading countries, and influential articles within these research fields. With the science mapping, we utilize co‐citation, bibliographic coupling, and co‐word analyses to uncover the thematic and intellectual framework of research in neuroeconomics and neurofinance. Overall, we reveal prominent research themes, including reward, decision‐making under risk, value, game theory, and intertemporal choices. Classical decision‐making theory divides the decision‐making process into three interconnected stages: identifying options, evaluating them, and making a choice. The research themes we revealed through science mapping analysis constitute different aspects of the evaluation stage. Accordingly, our results suggest that neuroeconomics and neurofinance research has mainly concentrated on the evaluation stage (and, to a lesser extent, the choice stage with value theme), while the process of identifying options has been relatively understudied, despite its vital significance in less structured, real‐world situations. Alongside revealing research themes, we ultimately spotlight research directions within neuroeconomics and neurofinance.