STAT-USA, a long-time standby, one stop shop for information released by government agencies publishing trade and economic information (such as the Census Bureau, Treasury Department, BLS, Federal Reserve, Foreign Agricultural Service, U.S. Commercial Service, Department of State, EIA, etc) will close its virtual doors on September 30, 2010. By August 15, a resources page pointing…
One good place to start for trade barrier data and research is to go to the World Bank web site and investigate the Trade portal. More specifically, the Trade Research section organizes working papers and other research reports by topic. Perhaps most sought is the Data on Trade and Import Barriers page which includes a…
International Financial Statistics (IFS) (Link works on the Carleton campus only) The principle data set of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Carleton now subscribes to the electronic version, but it is best used in concert with the print version, which is available in the library (in the monthly and yearbook issues). Good for: Macroeconomic, international…
World Development Indicators The World Bank’s statistical data for over 550 development indicators and time series data from 1960-2006 for over 200 countries and 18 country groups. Data includes social, economic, financial, natural resources, and environmental indicators. The link above is to the library’s subscription version of the database. Much of it is also available…
Statistical Abstract of the United States This compendium of statistics contains basic tables summarizing the vast amount of data collected by the U.S. Government agencies and other selected sources. Comparative international data are included as well. The library has print editions back the very first in 1878. The newest edition is in the Ready Reference…
If you are looking for GATT trade documents, you might want to start with the GATT Digital Library, a digital library of over 30,000 public documents published between 1947 and 1994. The library is a shared project of Stanford University Libraries & Academic Information Resources (SULAIR) and the WTO. “At present this site provides access…
If you have ever used the World Resources Series published by the World Resources Institute (in cooperation with the UNDP, UNEP, and World Bank) for its data tables, you will love the EarthTrends: The Environmental Information Portal. Well-documented, comparative data drawn from major sources on economic, demographic, political, resources and energy topics.
STAT-USA, one of the library’s subscription databases, announces that their product USA Trade Online (though listed on the library’s databases page, you need to visit the reference desk for access) will now include port-level trade data. Here is what the press release has to say: Currently there are about 45 districts reported. Each district is…
The Human Development Reports (HDR) from the UNDP are now freed from their pdfs. At the newly redesigned HDR site, you can find statistical data and their documentation, either in published table format or in animated graphics. You can also create your own tables for download. What I like best is the ability to browse…
According to the ICPSR metatdata, the sources for the IMF’s Direction of Trade Statistics are Central bank reports and bulletins, IMF area departments, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, International Labor Organization, IMF Treasurer’s Department, the United Nations, the National Bureau of Economic Research, and information from national authorities.