A Directory of Living Literature Reviews

Who's synthesizing what, and what are we missing?

Last updated: August 2026

Reimagining the card catalog for the era of exponential research growth. Image from Library of Congress, FSA/OWI Collection.

The number of academic papers doubles every 12 years. This wealth of new knowledge is exciting, but the pace of growth makes keeping up with the latest developments increasingly difficult, even for specialists. Living literature reviews are one response to this problem: continuously updated collections of accessible articles that synthesize academic research on a specific topic, written by a single expert who maintains a consistent voice and perspective over time.

We fund several living literature reviews through the Abundance and Growth Fund, and we’re aware of others doing similar work independently. This post is our attempt to collect them all in one place and to create a directory you can browse to find out if someone is writing a living literature review on a topic you care about.

We're not the only ones who think living literature reviews are valuable. VoxDev maintains a library of living literature reviews focused on development economics, covering topics from agricultural technology to taxation. Their model is a bit different from ours (team-authored, updated annually rather than continuously), but the goal is the same: making research accessible and keeping it current. In health and clinical research, the Living Evidence Atlas tracks hundreds of living evidence efforts worldwide.

We plan to keep this post updated over time. If you know of a living literature review we’ve missed, please let us know at abundanceandgrowth@coefficientgiving.org.

Current directory:

New Things Under the Sun by Matt Clancy. Social science research on science and innovation. How new ideas are generated, who generates them, and what helps or hinders the process. Topics: Science & Innovation, Economic Growth

The Patentist by Gaétan de Rassenfosse. Accessible, evidence-based essays synthesizing academic research on how patents shape innovation, competition, licensing, and litigation. Topic: Science & Innovation

AI Accountability Review by Nick Diakopoulos. Translating research to bridge the gap between knowledge and practice for AI policymakers, practitioners, and researchers. Topic: AI & Technology

Scaling in Human Societies by Michael Goff. How and why size matters, scaling patterns across institutions, cities, and systems. Topics: Economic Growth, Interdisciplinary Research

Bridging Boundaries by Rachel George. How institutions shape collaboration across fields, what barriers get in the way, and how emerging technologies like AI may help bridge disciplinary divides. Topics: Interdisciplinary Research, Science & Innovation

Lauren Policy: Migration Literature Review by Lauren Gilbert. Research on migration, progress, innovation, growth, and development. Topics: Labor & Immigration, Economic Growth

The Care Gap by Nalini Gulati and Vikas Dimble. Applying a gender lens to healthcare demand and supply in low- and middle-income countries, drawing on research across development economics, public policy, and behavioral science. Topic: Global Health & Development

Existential Crunch by Florian Jehn. An interdisciplinary look at societal collapse: what factors make it more likely, and what societies can do to be more resilient. Topic: Climate & Resilience

The Price of Power by Nikhil Kalyanpur. Synthesizing what we know about when money does and doesn’t mean power, across democracies and autocracies, in peace and war, from oligarchs to civil society. Topic: Governance & Political Economy

Monitoring Gene Drives by Felix Moronta Barrios. Research on gene drive technology and its implications. Topic: Biotechnology

Reskilled by James Ransom. From the aftermath of war to the AI frontier: how do you get people back into work when their jobs disappear? Topics: Labor & Immigration, Economic Growth

Building Abundance by Michael Wiebe. Research on housing and infrastructure policy. What gets built, what doesn’t, and why. Topics: Housing & Land Use, Infrastructure

Regression to the Meat by Seth Ariel Green.Research on reducing meat and animal product consumption, plus commentary on metascience and how to read studies critically. Topics: Animal Welfare, Science & Innovation

Related projects

Here are a few related projects worth knowing about:

Generative AI for Economic Research by Anton Korinek. A Journal of Economic Literature article on how generative AI can assist economists, with regularly published supplemental updates tracking the latest capabilities as AI systems evolve. Topics: AI & Technology, Science & Innovation

Ghosts of Electricity by Alex Imas. Individual research syntheses on AI adoption and its economic effects, including posts on who uses AI and how and the impact of AI on productivity. Topics: AI & Technology, Economic Growth

Under Review by Seth Werfel & Devon Magliozzi. Research-driven policy analysis that synthesizes peer-reviewed evidence to evaluate whether popular policy ideas hold up. Posts are treated as living documents, updated as new evidence emerges. Topics: Housing & Land Use, Governance & Political Economy

Specialized Research Bibliographies by Ben Trettel. A curated directory of expert-maintained research bibliographies across fields. Less detailed than full literature reviews, but broader in coverage and a useful complement.

What are we missing?

This post is itself a living document. If you write or follow a living literature review that belongs here we’d like to hear about it. We’re agnostic about topic areas and interested in any regularly updated, publicly accessible research synthesis written by someone with deep expertise in the field. Drop us a line at abundanceandgrowth@coefficientgiving.org.