OBJECTIVES: Peer-reviewed publications in the discipline of economic evaluation began appearing in the 1980s. The field has grown immensely since then, with cost-effectiveness analysis increasingly used to support decision making. The aim of this study was to conduct an exploratory analysis of the evolution of peer reviewed publication in economic evaluation.

METHODS: Using a standard search filter, we extracted details of all published studies in the discipline of economic evaluation listed on PubMed. We extracted data on journal, year of publication and the countries that the lead authors were based in. We compared the growth in publication against publications from all topics in PubMed.

RESULTS: A total of 14,514 papers were identified. Publications in health economics has grown as a proportion from 5 in a million publications in 1981, to 1,240 in a million in 2022. Ten journals account for 21% of published articles, peaking in 2009 with a 27% share of articles. However, the total number of journals publishing articles on economic evaluation has increased from 8 in 1990, to 73 in 200, to over 500 in 2020. The average number of authors per paper has increased linearly from 1.5 in 1987 to 7.6 in 2022. The number of countries represented by the lead authors has increased over time from 5 in 1990, to 13 in 2000, to over 60 in 2020. Publication was initially dominated by the US and then the UK, but China has become a substantial contributor in the last three years.

CONCLUSIONS: Although initially a niche topic, economic evaluation has become an increasingly mainstream topic. The volume of papers has increased, as has the reach in terms of number and type and journals publishing material, and the number of countries contributing to the research.