Economics Research

This is a selection of resources for research in economics. It is representative, but neither comprehensive nor exhaustive.

Web Resources

Comprehensive sites

WebEc - WWW Resources in Economics - Part of the WWW Virtual Library. Mirror of the original site in Finland. An absolute must visit site for anyone doing research in economics on the Web.

Institute of Labor and Industrial Relations - University of Michigan site edited by Bill Goffe, Dept. of Economics and International Business, University of Southern Mississippi. Links to data sources, journals, economists' pages, and much more.

National Bureau of Economic Research - Harvard University site with lots of statistics.

William A. Barnett's Recommendations - Barnett is professor of economics at Washington University, St. Louis, and editor of the monograph series, International Symposia in Economic Theory and the journal Macroeconomic Dynamics. Links to online archives, research centers, personally rated Web sites, and jobs.

Federal government

Gateway sites

GPO Access - Gateway to searchable databases, such as the Federal Register, Congressional Record, Congressional Bills and other sources, such as:

Office of Management and Budget - Search and download sections of the Federal Budget or Economic Report of the President.

CBDNet (Commerce Business Daily) - Online Government Contracting opportunities and listings.

General Accounting Office - GAO reports and other publications.

United States Congress - House and Senate Publications, Bills, History of bills, Public Laws, Economic Indicators, etc.

Fedstats: One Stop Shopping for Federal Statistics - Maintained by the Federal Interagency Council on Statistical Policy. Links to statistics and information produced by 70 federal agencies, such as the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Census Bureau, etc. If your browser supports frames, the agency, program, or other index remains available as you link to various resources.

FedWorld Information Network Home Page - Gateway to U.S. government information on the Internet. Many services offered, including:

Search U.S. Government Information Servers - Search by keyword or category.

U.S. Government Information Locator Service - a searchable database that describes information products available from the Federal government.

Fedworld hosts many Web sites of other government agencies, such as United States Treasury and Internal Revenue Service.

STAT-USA/Internet Site Economic, Trade, Business Information - Available in UNCA library only; librarian assistance and password required. Mother Lode of Federal statistical sites. Has National Trade Data Bank files, Federal Economic Bulletin Board services, Bureau of Economic Analysis data, "Frequently Requested Statistical Releases," and more. Time series and cross-sectional data on major indicators and trade.

U.S. Department of Commerce - Links to many useful sites having to do with "Commerce on the Web," such as:

U.S. Department of Commerce Bureaus, Econ and Stats - Excellent sources of economic information.

U.S. Department of Commerce Bureaus, Business and Trade - For the exporter or business developer.

Census Data

Statistical Abstract of the United States
Annual time series and cross-sectional data on very wide variety of subjects
Tables reference more detailed federal government statistical sources. Current year also in print at REF DESK HA202 [year]; backfiles in Documents collection

U.S. Census Bureau Home Page - Census 2000 data available through American Factfinder.

CenStats - Create custom reports by point-and-click from Annual survey of Manufactures, Building Permits, Census tract Street Locator, Consolidated Federal funds Report, County Business Patterns, Zip Business Patterns, USA counties, and International trade Data.

State of the Economy

The Economic Statistics Briefing Room - White House site with access to Federal economic indicators easily accessible from one page.

Economic Report of the President (1999) - Text or Acrobat Reader (PDF format). Also available: Reports for 1998, 1997.

Central Banking

Central Banking - Gateway to many Federal Reserve links. Site maintained by the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.

Fed In Print: an Index to Federal Reserve Economic Research - Search all Federal Reserve Bank research from one form.

Special Topics

Bureau of Labor Statistics - Detailed labor economics statistics. Access most requested time series or search for specific data. See the Economy at a Glance page for a quick overview. Most well-known title is the printed Handbook of Labor Statistics at FED DOC L2.3/5:[year]. An author search in the WNCLN catalog lists many titles.

Economic Research Service - U.S. Department of Agriculture site "for economic and other social science analysis and information on agriculture, food, natural resources, and rural America."  Check the page on ERS Electronic Publications: HTML Format.

PD&R - U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development & Research. This "HUD User" site has links to data on housing needs, market conditions, and government reports on housing policy and programs, economic development, urban planning, and related topics.

North Carolina State Government

State Data Center - Look for County and Regional Information from Log Into North Carolina (LINC)
Reports on selected variables by North Carolina county or planning region with a few clicks of the mouse.

Office of State Planning - Parent agency of the State Data Center has State Demographics data and other resources.

University and Organizational Sites

The Panel Study of Income Dynamics - PSID is a longitudinal survey (1968-present) of US individuals and their families. Data are collected annually. Use for cross-sectional, longitudinal, and intergenerational analysis.

Joint Center for Poverty Research - Northwestern University/University of Chicago site. "Supports academic research that examines what it means to be poor and live in America."

The International Political Economy Network - Sponsored by Communications for a sustainable Future, Boulder, Colorado. Electronic discussion group, archives include many types of information for economics and global activists. Not so easy to navigate, but an interesting site nonetheless.

Leonard Davis Institute Home Page - Health economics research at the University of Pennsylvania.

The Urban Institute — Welcome to the Urban Institute (Homepage) - Nonprofit policy research organization. One project, Assessing the New Federalism, includes a database of state policies and conditions related to "income security, health, child well-being, demographic, fiscal and political conditions." The database is deemed important because of the shift of responsibility for social programs from the federal government to the states. See the Hot Topics page for signed papers on current issues.

Electronic Data Sources

For other suggested resources, see these subject categories of  Ramsey Library's Electronic Resources:

• Business - Some business sources may provide economic information
• Statistics - Census Bureau and other statistical sites
• Government - Non-statistical government resources

FAME economics [computer file] : macroeconomic database
Time series data for macroeconomics. Continues Citibase.
Available on 9 diskettes at the Media Center: HB3730 .F42 1995
Requires TSP (Time Series Processor) software and permission from Dr. Browning

Reference Resources

The Ramsey Library Reference collection has dictionaries, encyclopedias, directories, atlases, handbooks and other resources. Browse through the sections will call numbers HA through HC to get some idea of what is there. Here are just a few titles.

Economic Report of the President [This link is to the Web version. Other links in this section are to library catalog records.] Time series data from 1929 to the present. UNCA REF HC106 .5 .A272 [year]

Business Statistics of the United States
Time series data. UNCA REF HC101 .A13122

Historical Statistics of the United States: Colonial Times to 1970
Time series and cross-sectional data. UNCA REF HA202 .B87 1976 [2 vols.]
Standard resource that brings many statistical series together conveniently in one volume.

Dictionary of U.S. government statistical terms (1991) - UNCA REF HA37.U55 D53 1991

The Fortune encyclopedia of economics (1993) - UNCA REF HB61 F67 1993

The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics and the Law (1998) - UNCA REF K487.E3 N48 1998

The New Palgrave: A Dictionary of Economics (1987) HB61 .N49

The McGraw-Hill encyclopedia of economics (2nd ed., c1994) - UNCA REF HB61 .E55 1994

Survey of social science. Economics series (1991) -  UNCA REF HB61 .S94 1991
 

Ramsey Library UNCA

This page updated 5 December 2001.