Economics

Sources of Research and Statistics for Economics

 

State Library of NSW Database Resources for Economics Students

The State Library of NSW (SLNSW) provides access to databases that are excellent sources of information for Economics. You need to have a SLNSW membership number to access most of the databases. If you do not already have a membership number for SLNSW you can sign up for free: for a Library card click here or https://www.sl.nsw.gov.au/research-and-collections/get-library-card/sign-library-card

Following is a list of key resources and databases for Economics from SLNSW:   


Business Insights: Global (Gale)

“This resource provides authoritative content organised around countries and global data sets covering international business topics. The platform includes analytical tools and statistical data, providing opportunities to compare global economies, companies and industries” (SLNSW): https://eresources.sl.nsw.gov.au/business-insights-global-gale


Factiva

“Factiva is a full-text news and financial information database of publications from Australian and international sources in 22 languages from 118 countries including newspapers, magazines, company and industry reports, newswires, pictures, and websites” (SLNSW): https://eresources.sl.nsw.gov.au/factiva

 

OECD iLibrary

“The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)'s Online Library of Statistical Databases, Books, ebooks and Periodicals” (SLNSW): https://eresources.sl.nsw.gov.au/oecd-ilibrary

 

The Economist Historical Archive 1843-2020 (Gale)

“Searchable full-text The Economist archive, a significant weekly international news and business magazine” (SLNSW): https://eresources.sl.nsw.gov.au/economist-historical-archive-1843-2020-gale

 

Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES)

“ABARES is an independent research agency which provides economic forecasts on Australian rural and resource industries. Subjects covered include commodity forecasts, services and infrastructure in the rural sector and risk management in farm businesses” (SLNSW): https://eresources.sl.nsw.gov.au/australian-bureau-agricultural-and-resource-economics-and-sciences-abares

 

JSTOR – Search Journals, primary sources, and books (JSTOR)

“JSTOR is an interdisciplinary digital archive of scholarly material in the social sciences and humanities and the sciences” (SLNSW): https://eresources.sl.nsw.gov.au/jstor-search-journals-primary-sources-and-books-jstor

 

Ebook Central (ProQuest)

Being ebooks, they are much more in-depth than a journal article; ebooks can be hundreds of pages in length. Sometimes ebooks can be too in-depth for the early phase of a research project, although the introduction chapters can provide excellent overviews of a topic at times; but generally, ebooks are perfect for really digging deep in a topic and tend to be written by experts.

Tip: search the database for your topic, then you can also search within chapter headings or book index for keywords; some eBooks have search functions within : https://eresources.sl.nsw.gov.au/ebook-central-proquest

 

Gale Research Complete

“Gale Research Complete is a unified platform for primary and secondary sources including over 28,000 journals, 2,000 ebooks, 300 primary source collections across 15 million digitised pages, and over two million literature works” (SLNSW): https://eresources.sl.nsw.gov.au/gale-research-complete

 

 

Free Access Sources of Economics


Australian Bureau of Statistics

ABS Topics at a glance. Key statistics about a range of Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) topics: https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics

 

Trade, investment and economic statistics -- Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

“This site provides access to trade and statistical reports prepared by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade” (SLNSW): https://www.dfat.gov.au/trade/trade-and-investment-data-information-and-publications/trade-statistics

 

International Monetary Fund (IMF)

“This site provides information about the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and includes a list of members and access to some full text reports such as the IMF Staff Country Reports. The site also includes a search engine for IMF publications” (SLNSW): https://www.imf.org/en/home

EconPapers

EconPapers provides access to RePEc, the world's largest collection of on-line Economics working papers, journal articles and software. https://econpapers.repec.org/ (Note: this website seems a little clunky, but it may have quality information).

 

Eurostat

Your key to European Statistics -look for subheadings such as “economics”: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/data/database

 

American Economic Association

From the American Economic Association, the following link takes you to their list of resources. You might find that there are too many sources of information here: https://www.aeaweb.org/resources

From the American Economic Association  website, here are four key links:

This membership gives you access to:

 

International Monetary Fund (IMF) Data

The IMF publishes a range of time series data on IMF lending, exchange rates and other economic and financial indicators. Manuals, guides, and other material on statistical practices at the IMF, in member countries, and of the statistical community at large are also available: https://www.imf.org/en/Data

 

World Bank Open Data

Free and open access to global development data: https://data.worldbank.org/

 

Podcasts about Economics

A great way to develop a broad understanding of the subject of economics is by listening to podcasts on the topic. You might need to try a few different podcasts to find one you connect with. Freakonomics is a fun starting point, this podcast will challenge the assumptions you hold about the world around you. Host Stephen J. Dubner, co-author of the books, speaks with Nobel laureates and provocateurs, intellectuals, and underachievers to investigate the hidden side of just about everything. You can listen to Freakonomics through their website (https://freakonomics.com/) or search for it on your favourite podcast app.

Here is an article that lists 25 podcasts you might also want to try: https://www.intelligenteconomist.com/economics-podcasts/