Abstract
The Journal of Economic and Financial Sciences (JEF) reaches its tenth year of publishing in 2016.
This
paper explores the manuscript characteristics, authorship dynamics and main research trends of the
journal’s first decade by analysing 245 published academic papers that appeared in the journal
between 2007 and 2016. Using the principles of bibliometrics, the body of literature is analysed,
with a number of trends emerging. The analysis explores, inter alia, the geographic distribution of
contributing institutions, the degree of collaboration, and the main topics that were focused on in
the journal’s first decade. The analysis shows that the majority of papers were written by more
than one author, with contributing institutions spread out across South Africa. Furthermore, the
analysis shows that the journal focussed mainly on matters of Economics (more specifically
development economics, economic geography, economic growth and economic impact of certain events),
Taxation (more specifically income tax matters, research on various Tax Acts, and tax compliance)
and Finance (more specifically, research on financial crises, financial development, financial
distress, financial performance, financial markets, and financial reporting/statements), while also
making contributions
to the fields of education, economic sociology, tourism studies and others.