Useful Research Links
Merriam Webster
Library of Congress
Research Tools
Public Libraries.com
World Health Organization
www.who.int/
The World Bank
www.worldbank.org/
Loans money to developing nations.
The Council for Global Education
www.globaleducation.org
World Education
www.worlded.org
United Nations
http://www.un.org/
Group of 188 member countries.
NATO
http://www.nato.int
North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
European Union
http://europa.eu
Common market of 27 European nations.
World Trade Org.
http://www.wto.org/
Regulates global trade and tariffs.
Int'l Monetary Fund
http://www.imf.org/
Promotes int'l economic stability.
OPEC
http://www.opec.org/
Org. of Petroleum Exporting Countries.
G8 Summit
http://www.g8italia2009.it/G8/G8-G8_Layout_locale-1199882116809_Home.htm
Yearly world economic discussion.
Interpol
http://www.interpol.int/
Fights international criminal activity.
Org. of American States
http://www.oas.org/
Union of North and South American nations.
Multi-governmental Orgs
http://www.gksoft.com/govt/en/multi.html
Links to groups worldwide.
UNHCR
http://www.unhcr.ch/
UN High Commissioner for Refugees.
UNICEF
http://www.unicef.org/
Protects the rights of children.
World Food Program
http://www.wfp.org/
Feeds 89 million hungry people.
UNAIDS
http://www.unaids.org/
Supports people infected with HIV/AIDS.
Comm. for Refugees
http://www.refugees.org/
Learn about refugee issues.
Development Gateway Foundation
http://www.developmentgateway.org/ Share resources and tools
for development.
USAID
http://www.usaid.gov/
U.S. financial aid to poor countries.
NAFTA
http://www.nafta-sec-alena.org/
North American Free Trade Agreement.
Human Rights
http://www.un.org/Overview/rights.html
Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
·
USA.gov –
provides government information by topic
·
Internal Revenue Service Tax Statistics – This site contains
both reports and spreadsheets on various categories of taxes and
income.
·
Bureau of Economic Analysis –
The BEA provides information on U.S. economic data on topics such as
GDP, income, and employment, at national, state, and local levels.
The BEA also provides data on U.S. international economic
transactions such as trade, foreign direct investment.
·
Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)
– The BLS provides data on employment, wages and prices at various
levels (national, state, and local).
·
Bureau of Transportation
Statistics (BTS)--The BTS provides data on modes of
transportation (e.g. air, rail, and highway) and related subjects
(e.g. safety, airline performance, and energy consumption).
·
Comparative Welfare States Data Set (CWSDS) – The CWSDS provides
data on 18 OECD countries from 1960 onwards and includes many
economic, political, and policy information as well.
·
Current Population Survey
– This is a joint project between the Bureau of Labor Statistics and
the US Census Bureau. The CPS is a monthly survey that collects
basic socio-demographic information and labor force characteristics.
·
Congressional Budget Office (US)
– Official site for current and historical budget data for the US.
·
County Business Patterns (CBP) – The CBP is a Census Bureau
publication with detailed business data down to the county level.
·
Current Population Survey
– This is a joint project between the Bureau of Labor Statistics and
the US Census Bureau. The CPS is a monthly survey that collects
basic socio-demographic information and labor force characteristics.
·
National Bureau of Economic
Research – is a private, nonprofit research organization
dedicated to studying the science and empirics of economics,
especially the American economy.
·
US Census Bureau
– The US Census provides information on income studies, health,
and many other important statistical information in the US.
·
Dow Jones Averages – This site contains current and historical
data for various Dow Jones indexes such as the Dow Jones Industrial
Average).
·
EIU
Country Reports
– The Economist Intelligence Unit provides country reports online including
economic, political, and social indicators. In addition, there are
statistical reference tables in each report.
·
EconData –
This is an excellent starting place for time-series economic data.
Data on exchange rates, GDP, trade, finance, etc. are available for
the U.S. at both the national and state levels and at different
frequencies (annual, quarterly, or monthly).
·
Economic Research Service of
the U.S. Department of Agriculture – ERS provides economic and
other information and analysis on agriculture, food, natural
resources, and rural America.
·
Economagic Economic Time
Series Page – This site provides times-series data from many
different federal agencies (e.g. Census Bureau, the BLS) primarily
geared toward the US.
·
Eurostat Statistics DVD
– This database provides a variety of economic and social data on EU members
at the national and regional levels.
·
Federal Reserve
Economic Data (FREDII) – FRED II includes time-series data for
information such as GDP, interest rates, exchange rates, consumer
prices, and banking. Most of the data are from the 1950's onwards.
·
FEDSTATS – FEDSTATS
provides data on the U.S. and contains links to statistical
resources produced by the federal government.
·
Foreign Labor Statistics –
This site, which is hosted by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics,
allows for international comparisons of unemployment, compensation,
and other indicators.
·
Global
Market Information Database (GMID) – GMID is produced by
Euromonitor International and contains time-series data
(1977-present) on a very wide range of economic and social
indicators such as income, GDP, consumer expenditures, and
population demographics. The data are available through both
Excel-ready spreadsheets and .pdf reports.
·
Groningen Growth and
Development Centre (GGDC) – The GGDC is run by the University of
Groningen in the Netherlands. It offers a variety of downloadable
datasets with economic data for both developed and developing
countries (although the most detailed data are for developed
countries).
·
IMF
International Financial Statistics – The IFS is a standard
source of statistics on various aspects of international and
domestic finance.
·
Indiastat – Indiastat
focuses on India specifically and contains data on a very wide range
of social, economic, and political topics.
·
The Inflation
Calculator – This site contains a calculator that adjusts any
given amount of money for inflation, according to the Consumer Price
Index, from 1800 to 2006.
·
International Labour Organization – The ILO is the main
international labor-rights advocacy group in the world and has
brought together a variety of information about labor rights and
working conditions internationally.
·
International Price Indexes
– This site, which is hosted by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics,
contains data on prices of goods and services traded between the
U.S. and the rest of the world.
·
Joint External Debt Hub (JEDH) – The JEDH is a very detailed
site on external debt with time-series data going back to the early
1990's. The database is a joint project of the BIS, the IMF, the
OECD, and the World Bank.
·
Moody’s Economy.com
– Moody’s is a leading independent provider of economic,
financial, country, and industry research. The company provides
country analysis; financial markets; industrial markets; and
regional markets. The information provided can be used for such as
strategic planning; product and sales forecasting; risk and
sensitivity management; investment research, and many others.
·
National Bureau of
Economic Research – The NBER is a private research institution
with various resources in terms of data, links, and working papers.
The NBER is a great starting place for finding macro-level and
micro-level economic data on such subjects as international trade,
patents, and industrial activity/output.
·
National Science
Foundation IRIS Database – The NSF's IRIS (Industrial Research
and Development Information System) Database contains a great deal
of data on research and development spending within industry in the
United States. Topics include both R&D spending (by industry, by
source, and by function) and R&D personnel. The data are time-series
data, with coverage varying by table.
·
The Panel Study of
Income Dynamics – The PSID is a longitudinal study of economic
and demographic behavior among different social groups in the US.
·
PovertyNet - Data
on Poverty – PovertyNet provides resources relevant for research
on poverty, including links to several international/comparative
datasets on the topic.
·
Resources for
Economists – This site is hosted by the American Economics
Association (AEA). The site is an excellent starting point for
locating data sources on US and international economic issues and
analysis.
·
SimplyMap – SimplyMap is an Internet-based mapping application
that enables users to develop interactive thematic maps and reports
using thousands of demographic, business, and marketing data.
·
SocioSite –
This site (housed at the University of Amsterdam) offers links to a
large number of social and economic data archives around the world.
·
SourceOECD – SourceOECD is an online service that provides
full-text access to OECD studies, periodicals, and statistics (1960
forward). Included are annuals, outlooks, policy reviews, conference
proceedings, analytical reports, guidelines, working papers, all
periodicals, and 27 statistical databases.
·
State
Politics and Policy Quarterly Data Sources – This site has
time-series data for the American states on basic economic,
political, and social information. Depending on the variable, the
data coverage is from 1975 to 2001.
·
Statistical
Abstract of the United States – Electronic version of the
popular resource. The Statistical Abstract contains a wealth of
information on numerous socio-economic and demographic indicators
for the US.
·
StatUSA – StatUSA
compiles and provides statistics from the U.S. Government from 1973
onwards (varying by topic) and also provides some limited
international data.
·
Statistical Yearbook for Latin America and the Caribbean – This
site provides social and economic indicators for the countries in
this region.
·
UNCTAD Handbook of Statistics – UNCTAD's on-line Handbook of
Statistics contains a variety of data related to international
trade, investment, and development.
·
U.S. County and
City Data Book (University of Virginia) – The 1988, 1994, and
2000 electronic editions are available on this site. These data
books contain information on a variety of state-level socio-economic
and demographic indicators.
·
The World Bank (Data &
Research) – The World Bank is not a bank but an organization
made up of two unique development institutions owned by 185 member
countries—the
International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and
the
International Development Association (IDA). The organization is
a vital source of financial and technical assistance to developing
countries around the world.
o
World Bank Research
Group – The WBRG holds numerous downloadable datasets on various
international trade, development, and finance issues.
o
World Bank
World Development Indicators (WDI) – The WDI provides convenient
access to over 500 indicators on over 200 countries.
o
Private Participation in
Infrastructure Projects – This is a World Bank site with a
database on privatization in infrastructure sectors (energy,
telecommunications, transport, and water/sewage).
·
Yahoo! Finance
– A convenient source of market data. The site also offers
historical quotes that may be useful for time series studies.
