Global Stock Market Linkages: A Systematic Bibliometric Review and Thematic Synthesis (1988–2025)

ABSTRACT

The rising interdependence of global stock markets, driven by financial liberalization and economic integration in recent decades, is a critical focus for investors, researchers, and policymakers. This review adopts bibliometric and content analysis to examine the literature on global stock market interlinkages, thereby providing a comprehensive mapping of the field. Following the PRISMA framework, this study systematically reviews 351 articles from A and A* journals on the ABDC journal quality list that are indexed in Scopus. Further, qualitative content analysis of 50 articles that specifically focused on stock market integration provides a nuanced understanding of key themes, underlying theories, and research gaps. Our analysis identifies the most cited papers, influential authors, and thematic clusters in this domain, highlighting how global stock market interlinkages evolve over time, influence volatility transmission, and shape regional market integration. Furthermore, our findings reveal the unique intellectual and conceptual structures that characterize the research domain and highlight the mainstream theories employed in the field. By synthesizing quantitative bibliometric trends with qualitative content analysis, this review offers a unique perspective, moving beyond unidimensional methodological approaches to deliver a holistic understanding of global stock market integration.