MANAGEMENT OF LOCAL FINANCES IN THE CONTEXT OF GLOBAL CHALLENGES: A BIBLIOMETRIC ANALYSIS

Abstract

This article presents an interdisciplinary study of the contemporary scientific discourse on local finance management in the context of global challenges, including financial crises, the COVID-19 pandemic,  climate threats, and the full-scale war in Ukraine. The main objective of the research is to identify key trends, dominant themes, and scholarly schools in the field of local finance, employing a bibliometric analysis of publications indexed in the international Scopus database and utilizing VOSviewer software. The study highlights the growing role of local self-government authorities as primary responders to crisis conditions. The authors argue for the need for deeper scholarly reflection on local financial governance, taking into account international experience. Based on an analysis of 187 relevant publications from 2015–2025, the research identifies four core scientific clusters: budget planning and environmental sustainability; the socio-institutional dimension of public finance; decentralization and environmental management; and climate adaptation and participatory practices. This clustering reflects the evolution of scientific approaches from technocratic management toward more inclusive and resilient models. Particular attention is paid to the geography of scientific influence, with the United Kingdom, the United States, China, Canada, and Australia emerging as leading centers of knowledge production. The authors emphasize that Ukraine, amid wartime and decentralization reform, can significantly benefit from implementing the identified international practices, particularly in strategic budgeting, risk management, transparency, and digitalization. In conclusion, the article substantiates the need for further applied research on local finance management that considers the Ukrainian context and enables the development of effective, adaptive, and evidence-based public policy. The proposed bibliometric mapping offers researchers, policymakers, and practitioners a systematic understanding of the current state and future development of the field.