Ramsey Library Research Guides

International Marketing

Countries & Cultures | Statistics & Demographics
Business Etiquette | Business Guides | Market Research
Corporate Tax Rates | Current News

Countries & Cultures

There are a number of great government publications that provide useful overviews of all the countries in the world. They are freely available on the Web, and also in hard copy in Ramsey Library (indicated in bold print)

Country Studies/Area Handbooks
Lengthy, detailed studies of most countries in the world. Produced under the sponsorship of the U.S. Department of the Army. The intent was to cover areas that are potential trouble spots, so more stable countries (France, United Kingdom) are not included.
Search Library Catalog by title - example: Japan, a country study.

Background Notes
Pamphlet series including brief information on the history, government, economy, and people for every country with which the U.S. maintains diplomatic relations. Produced by the U.S. Department of State.
UNCA FED DOC S 1.123:

CIA World Factbook
Brief, statistical information about all the countries of the world. Includes economic statistics and information on telecommunications, transportation, and major industries. Updated annually.
REF DESK G122 .U56a

The following Web sites provide reliable information about all the countries in the world.

Portals to the World
High quality, reviewed (by the Library of Congress) Web sites for every country in the world.

You can find additional resources in the Reference and General collections of Ramsey Library.

Europa World Year Book
Annual reference series with overviews of every country in the world.
REF JN 1 .E85

Encyclopedia of World Cultures
This unique resource divides the world's peoples by ethnic group rather than by country. However it provides some interesting information about lesser known minority groups.
REF GN 307 .E53 1991

Search the Library Catalog by subject for books on individual countries. The Reference collection contains encyclopedias devoted to just one country, such as the Encyclopedia of Japan, and many other works are located upstairs in the General collection.

Statistics & Demographics

World Development Indicators
Includes many interesting statistics that reflect the relative prosperity of a country in comparison to others. For example, the section on Traffic and Congestion describes the number of motor vehicles, passenger cars, two-wheelers, road traffic, and fuel prices for every country. Published by the World Bank. Ramsey Library owns the 1997 edition. More recent editions may be obtained from ASU and WCU through ABC Express.
HC 59.15 .W656 1997

United Nations Statistical Yearbook
Statistical information for every country in the world.
REF HA 12.5 .U63

United Nations Demographic Yearbook
Focuses on population, natality, mortality, and other vital statistics
REF HA 17 .D45

European Marketing Data and Statistics
Market research statistics for the countries of Europe.
Obtain from WCU through ABC Express

International Marketing Data and Statistics
Market research statistics for all the other countries of the world.
Obtain from WCU through ABC Express

Business Etiquette

The following resources focus on different social and cultural conventions found in countries around the world. Books which cover more than one country or an entire region have been placed in Reference. Books on individual countries are found in the General collection. Search the Library Catalog for individual countries by subject - example: Japan -- Business Etiquette.

Do's and Taboos Around the World. Ed. by Roger Axtell. John Wiley, 1993.
REF HF 5387 .D66 1993

Kiss, Bow, or Shake Hands: How to Do Business in Sixty Countries. By Terri Morrison et al. Adams Media, 1994.
REF HF 5389 .M67 1994

The Arab World Handbook. By James Peters. Stacey International, 2000.
REF HF 5389.3 .A73 P484 2000

Mind Your Manners: Managing Business Cultures in the New Global Europe. By John Mole. Nicholas Brealey Publishing, 2003.
REF HD 70 .E8 M653 2003

International Business Etiquette: Asia and the Pacific Rim. By Ann Marie Sabath. Career Press, 1999.
Available through NetLibrary

International Business Etiquette: Europe. By Ann Marie Sabath. Career Press, 1999.
Available through NetLibrary

International Business Etiquette: Latin America. By Ann Marie Sabath. Career Press, 1999.
Available through NetLibrary

Executive Planet: Business Culture Guides
Offers over 40 cultural guides to different countries. Authored by executives and organizations with international business expertise.

Business Guides

With the growth of the global marketplace in recent years, there has been an increase of published guides for doing business in foreign countries. To find these guides, search the Library Catalog by subject - example: China--commerce. Unfortunately, not every guide is cataloged using this subject heading. A keyword search using the terms "commerce" or "business" might identify these guides (along with some irrelevant items) - example: China and (business or commerce).

Doing Business with... published by Kogan Page
Popular series of business guides covering over 30 countries
Search the Library Catalog by title - example: Doing Business with Bahrain

Doing Business in 2004: Understanding Regulation.
Published by the World Bank.
REF K 3840 .D64 2004

The European Business Handbook. Ed. by Adam Jolly. Kogan Page, 2003
An overview of current business trends in countries that make up the European Union.
REF HC 240 .E825 2003

The Handbook of Country Risk 2003: a Guide to International Business and Trade. Kogan Page, 2003.
Assesses the risks involved in doing business in over 140 countries.
REF HG 4538 .H36 2003

Market Research

STAT-USA
The motherlode of global market research produced by the U.S. government. Select GLOBUS & NTDB for access to these popular series:

Country Commercial Guides
Industry Sector Analysis Reports
Best Market Reports

**Can only be used in Ramsey Library and requires a password. See the Reference desk for details

Foreign Labor Trends
Detailed information on labor markets in foreign countries. Reports for about 20 countries are available on the Web (those published since 2002). Reports for other countries from previous years are available in hard copy and can be found by searching the Library Catalog by keyword - example: foreign labor trends and Cambodia

IMF Country Reports
The International Monetary Fund has made all their research reports since 1997 freely available on the Web. Although these reports are geared towards a country's interaction with the IMF, they include some useful economic indicators.

Tax Rates

International Tax
Corporate tax rates by country from the Tax Foundation.

Global Tax
Corporate tax rate survey from KPMG.

Current News

CountryWatch
Another useful feature of this site is its Global News Service. Each country report includes the top news and business stories from wire services.

LexisNexis Academic
Provides full-text news stories from many international and business publications that are not otherwise available.

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This page created by Shonra McManus, Public Services Librarian. Last updated 2 May 2005 by Bryan Sinclair.

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