Despite the global increase in research on health inequalities, more needs to be done to strengthen efforts to inform local interventions aiming to tackle health inequalities. A recent bibliometric analysis identified Spain as the 10th highest global contributor to this research field (1966–2015). Yet a significant proportion of this production was affiliated to just a few institutions in Barcelona. In this article, the authors ask what determines the local capacity to produce research on health inequalities, and how and why has the city produced so much health inequalities research over the past four decades?

To answer these questions, a novel realist explanatory case study was conducted. Findings confirm that several of the proposed causal mechanisms have been activated under certain contextual conditions over time, which have assisted to generate the large volume of health inequalities research produced in Barcelona. In particular, the findings highlight the important role that politics plays in the health inequalities research production process and what a few (politically and scientifically) motivated individuals and/or a critical mass can achieve despite limited resources. In addition, the study identified that the collaboration between The Johns Hopkins University and the City (via several institutions) has played an key role in developing local health inequalities research capacities over the past few decades, which has helped to create this local research field - a nice reminder that our activities in the JHU-UPF Public Policy Center form part of an important tradition.

The authors call for more research on this topic in other global settings, as this type of knowledge could identify good practices and pending challenges used to guide future health inequalities research capacity strengthening strategies in different settings. Such strategies can strengthen the knowledge produced on this topic, which in turn can be used to inform effective actions aiming to tackle health inequalities.

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