Crafts as a key factor in local development: Bibliometric analysis

The role of crafts on a global level has accrued importance at present, both for developing countries and for rural development in general. Governments and institutions are increasingly trying to promote rural development to fight against the flight of the population from rural areas. Crafts is considered an important tool for local economic development and job creation. The goal of this study is to use bibliometric analysis to analyze the advances in research in the field of crafts and their influence on the development of rural communities. It also aims to identify the main lines of research that are currently being addressed as future trends. This analysis has provided a global, systematic and visual overview of the 1379 studies related to the role of crafts in the development of rural areas, published from 1954, year in which the first publication appeared, up to 2021. Growth trends have been identified in the number of articles published, magazines, authors, institutions and most productive countries. Results have shown that the most popular lines of research on this subject are those in which crafts are considered a source of income for local communities, particularly linked to tourism, job creation and sustainability in the first place; followed by research on the demographic and economic effects of new craft products and processes on rural areas; and those that consider crafts as a factor to mitigate poverty in the rural world. Therefore, the concept of handicrafts as a source of livelihood for poor rural regions is primarily emphasized.