Useful Web Links in Economics
I. Sources for literature reviews
This is the online catalog of the CSB/SJU libraries. From here you can also access the entire MnPALS system (including Saint Cloud State's library) and the University of Minnesota libraries.
B. EconLit
Description from the American Economic Association (AEA) website:
EconLit is the AEA's electronic bibliography of economics literature throughout the world. EconLit contains abstracts, indexing, and links to full-text articles in economics journals. It abstracts books and indexes articles in books, working papers series, and dissertations. EconLit also provides the full-text of JEL book reviews. The pages also list Subject Descriptors used in EconLit with links to comparable headings in the JEL Classification System.
C. Resources for Economists on the Internet (RFE)
From the RFE homepage:
This guide is sponsored by the American Economic Association. It lists 2000 resources in 97 sections and sub-sections available on the Internet of interest to academic and practicing economists, and those interested in economics. Almost all resources are also described.
II. Economic data sources
A. Resources for Economists on the Internet (RFE): Data
This section of RFE provides links to both US and world data.
B. EH.Net - historical data
a. The Annual Real and Nominal GDP for the United States, 1790 - 2006
b. Purchasing Power of the United States Dollar, 1665 - 2006
C. U.S. Government:
1. Bureau of Economic Analysis
The place to go for National Income Accounts data such as GDP and its components.
The place to go for labor market data and for the Consumer Price Index
Data on income distribution, poverty and lots of other good stuff.
4. The Economic Report of the President
This is a good source not only for data but also for contemporary analysis of the US economy.
5. FRED - Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Probably the best place to get data on financial variables, especially money and interest rate data.
From the website:
Welcome to FREDŽ (Federal Reserve Economic Data) , a database of over 13,000 U.S. economic time series. With FREDŽ you can download data in Microsoft Excel and text formats and view charts of data series.
D. The International Monetary Fund (IMF):
Look at the bottom right corner of this page: click on the letter for the country you wish to study.
2. World Economic Outlook-various years
The best source of contemporary analysis of the global economy.
3. World Economic Outlook database
Want GDP and other stuff for all of the IMF member countries from 1970 onward? This is the place.
From the website:
The Penn World Table provides purchasing power parity and national income accounts converted to international prices for 188 countries for some or all of the years 1950-2004.
F. The World Bank
a. Main Page
From the website:
The World Bank's annual World Development Report (WDR) is an invaluable guide to the economic, social and environmental state of the world today. Each year the WDR provides in depth analysis of a specific aspect of development. Past reports have considered such topics as the role of the state, transition economies, labor, infrastructure, health, the environment, and poverty. The reports are the Bank's best-known contribution to thinking about development.
G. Global Development Network Growth Database
Consists of 4 data sets:
Macro time series: contains aggregate measures such as real GDP
Micro time series: contains real GDP per worker, capital per worker, and employment.
Government finance: expenditures, revenues and other good stuff.
Social indicators and fixed factors: school enrollments, radios per 1000 people and even more good stuff.
H. The World Trade Organization (WTO) Trade statistics
III. News media
The premier national newspaper. You can sign up for free e-mail delivery of the daily headlines.
Much of the content is only available by subscription (what else would you expect from the WSJ?)
Listen to it often and you'll stay well-informed about business and the economy.
IV Economists' websites
Paul Krugman (official site) and Unofficial Paul Krugman Archive
