LibGuides: Economics: Economic Statistics

American Economic Association

Resources for Economists on the Internet

U.S. Census Bureau

U.S. Census Bureau
The U.S. Census Bureau's mission is "to serve as the nation's leading provider of quality data about its people and economy."

Highlighted Resource from the U.S. Census Bureau:

Global Market Finder
Use this interactive tool from the U.S. Census Bureau to analyze export markets for U.S. goods by product and destination. Filter by country and year. View the data as a table or graph.

U.S. Census Bureau: State Data Centers

The State Data Center program is one of the oldest and most successful partnership endeavors the U.S. Census Bureau has undertaken to-date. This partnership between the Census Bureau and the 50 states, District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and island areas began in 1978. The program makes data available to the public locally through a network of state agencies, state and local governments, libraries, and universities.

Local State Data Center websites:

Economic Indicators

Council of Economic Advisers for the Joint Economic Committee: "Economic Indicators"
Available from the U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO) from April 1995 forward, this monthly publication is prepared by the Council of Economic Advisers for the Joint Economic Committee. It provides economic information on gross domestic product, income, employment, production, business activity, prices, money, credit, security markets, Federal finance, and international statistics.
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"Economic Indicators" back to 1948 and "Supplement to Economic Indicators" back to 1953 are made available through FRASER, the Federal Reserve Archival System for Economic Research. FRASER is provided through a partnership between GPO and the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. FRASER is not an official version of Economic Indicators and GPO can not guarantee the authenticity or completeness of the data.

Polling/Survey Data

ICPSR: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research This link opens in a new window
Data archive of more than 250,000 files of research in the social and behavioral sciences. Teaching/learning resources include data-driven learning guides and classroom exercises.
The data archive includes a broad range of disciplines, including political science, sociology, demography, economics, history, education, gerontology, criminal justice, public health, foreign policy, and law. ICPSR's entire collection is online and available for downloading.
Keywords: data, repository, social sciences, health
Roper Center Public Opinion Archives (with iPOLL) This link opens in a new window
Provided by the Roper Center for Public Opinion Research, Roper iPoll is the largest collection of poll data anywhere—from 1935 to present. Contains data from U.S. and international polling firms with broad topical coverage of opinions and behavior on social issues, politics, pop culture, international affairs, and more. International and U.S. datasets available for immediate download.
To run cross-tabulations without statistical programs, download datasets and documentation, or download up to 500 iPoll questions at once, you must create an account using your Drexel email address.
Keywords: public opinion, poll

The following polling/survey resources are freely available to the public:

Gallup
Drexel does not subscribe but some statistics and reports are available at no charge.
IPUMS
"IPUMS provides census and survey data from around the world integrated across time and space. IPUMS integration and documentation makes it easy to study change, conduct comparative research, merge information across data types, and analyze individuals within family and community context." IPUMS is a part of the Minnesota Population Center at the University of Minnesota. **NOTE: free registration required to extract data from an IPUMS website**
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Includes U.S. Census, international census, American Community Survey, and Current Population Survey microdata and more.
Pew Research Center
A "nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping America and the world." Pew conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, content analysis and other data-driven social science research.

Country Statistical Yearbooks

The guide linked below, published by the University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries' Data & Information Services Center, provides links to statistical yearbooks or similar collections for 154 countries:

Country Statistical Yearbooks

Economics Statistical Databases

Europa World Year Book This link opens in a new window
Europa World is the online version of the Europa World Year Book, a source of information on world-wide affairs. First published in 1926, the year book covers political and economic information in over 250 countries and territories, from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe.
Select a country, territory, or region or use the "Comparative Statistics" section to compare tables and charts of international statistics.
Keywords: country, macroeconomics
Historical Statistics of the United States This link opens in a new window
Five-volume reference work covering aspects of population, work and welfare, economic structure and performance, economic sectors, and governance and international relations, each placed in historical context by a recognized expert in the field, with coverage from Colonial times to 2000. Content is fully searchable and downloadable and includes essays, more than 37,000 data series, and statistics from more than 1,000 sources, with the ability to graph individual tables and create customized tables and spreadsheets.
Passport This link opens in a new window
Global market research database providing insight on brands, companies, consumers, economies, and select consumer product, service, and supply (ingredients and packaging) industries in more than 200 countries. Content includes: analysis, analytics, articles, company profiles, reports, and data.Keywords: brand, consumer, country, economy, ingredient, market, packaging, product, service, supply
PolicyMap This link opens in a new window
An online (no software installation needed) U.S. national data and mapping tool and analytics platform with multidisciplinary applications for college students and faculty. It is used in undergraduate and graduate curricula and research related to social sciences, urban studies, real estate and housing analysis, community and economic development, public administration, public health, policy and political science, education, business, economics, statistics, and geography, among others. Users can leverage thousands of U.S. data indicators in PolicyMap to perform demographic and socioeconomic analysis, from a neighborhood census block group in many cases, up to a national level, as well as create custom regions, for their research and studies.
Statista This link opens in a new window
Largest available data aggregator for statistics, offering more than one million statistics and facts from more than 18,000 sources within the United States and internationally. Statistics, statistical dossiers, reports, surveys, and market studies are categorized into industries, broad topics, countries, and consumer, digital, and mobility markets. Global Consumer Survey covers more than 50 industries, more than 5,000 international brands, and additional topics from a global perspective. Business Plan Export aids in market modeling, business case development, and profit and loss statement creation.
Statistical Abstract of the United States This link opens in a new window
Authoritative and comprehensive summary of statistics on the social, political, and economic conditions of the United States. Content includes more than 1,400 individually indexed tables (with attached spreadsheets) that are searchable and browsable. Includes the following editions: 2013 to present. For the 1878 to 2012 editions, visit the U.S. Census Bureau website.
Keywords: statistic, census
UN Comtrade This link opens in a new window
Repository of official international trade statistics and analytical tables, providing selected trade series from 30 specialized data sources for all available countries and areas recognized by the United Nations (more than 170 countries/areas). Includes import and export statistics detailed by commodity/service category and partner country, with time series data from 1962.
Keywords: country, export, import, trade
UNdata This link opens in a new window
Provides access to major United Nations statistical databases containing over 60 million data points and covering agriculture, crime, education, employment, energy, environment, health, HIV/AIDS, human development, industry, information and communication technology, national accounts, population, refugees, tourism, trade, as well as the Millennium Development Goals indicators. Content includes country profiles, databases, statistical tables, and glossaries; statistical coverage varies by measure, but may go back to 1950.
Keywords: country, data
World Development Indicators (WDI) This link opens in a new window
WDI from The World Bank contains more than 1,400 development indicators and time series data for more than 220 economies, compiled from officially-recognized international sources. Content includes national, regional, and global estimates available as pre-defined or customizable tables, dashboards, annual publications, and country and indicator pages, with some data series extending back to 1960.
Keywords: country, economy, environment, global, market, people, population, poverty, state

International Monetary Fund (IMF) Resources

International Monetary Fund (IMF) Data This link opens in a new window
Macroeconomic and financial data from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) covers the external, financial, fiscal, and real sectors, as well as cross-domain topics, for nearly 200 countries/economies. Content includes predefined data tables by country/economy or key indicator, downloadable datasets covering multiple geographies, and PDF versions of IMF data publications.
Register for an account with your Drexel email address to save queries, perform bulk downloading, access APIs, and use IMF Data Workbooks.
Keywords: commodity, country, currency, data, economy, finance, financial, fiscal, investment, macroeconomics, monetary, public debt

IMF Data includes access to these two very popular resources:

Direction of Trade Statistics (DOTS) This link opens in a new window
Direction of Trade Statistics (DOTS) from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) presents the value of merchandise exports and imports disaggregated according to a country's primary trading partners. DOTS covers all IMF member states, some non-member countries, the world, and major areas, with annual data beginning in 1947 and monthly and quarterly data beginning in 1960, available as exportable data tables that are predefined or customizable using an online query tool, or as downloadable yearbook or quarterly issues of the Direction of Trade Statistics publication.
Keywords: export, import, trade
International Financial Statistics (IFS) This link opens in a new window
International Financial Statistics (IFS) from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) presents international statistics on all aspects of international and domestic finance including balance of payments, commodity prices, exchange rates, fund position, government finance, industrial production, interest rates, international liquidity, labor statistics, money and banking, national accounts, population, and prices. IFS covers 194 countries and areas, with data available starting in 1948 for many IMF member countries, with exportable data tables that are predefined and available by country or indicator or customizable using an online query tool.
Keywords: banking, country, exchange rate, finance, financial, investment, interest rate, labor, money, national accounts, price, trade

Additional Statistical Resources

Data.Census.Gov
This is the U.S. Census Bureau’s new dissemination platform. After July 1, 2019, all new data (previously released on American FactFinder) will be released on this new data platform. This platform will be the primary way to access data from the 2018 American Community Survey, 2017 Economic Census, 2020 Census, and more.
Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED®)
From the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Contains regional and National financial and economic data.
GeoFRED®
From the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. GeoFRED® allows you to create, customize, and share geographical maps of data found in FRED®.
Archival FRED (ALFRED®)
From the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. Historical versions of economic data available on a particular date.
OECD: Data
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's data portal
Penn World Table (version 9.0)
Originally constructed by Robert Summers, Alan Heston, and Irving Kravis of the University of Pennsylvania, the Penn World Table provides a set of economic time-series based on national accounts covering most of the countries in the world. Version 9.0 provides purchasing power parity and national income accounts converted to international prices for 182 countries for some or all of the years 1950-2014.
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Version 9.0 allows for comparisons of relative GDP per capita, as a measure of standard of living, the productive capacity of economies and their productivity level.
StatsAmerica
Collects thousands of data items from hundreds of data sets from dozens of federal and state sources, along with some commercial or private source data. Identifies direct agency source of the data on every table, profile or map. Excellent, easy-to-use resource for local demographics.
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StatsAmerica is a service of the Indiana Business Research Center (IBRC) at Indiana University's Kelley School of Business with support from the Economic Development Administration.
Total Economy Database
Comprehensive database with annual data covering GDP, population, employment, hours, labor quality, capital services, labor productivity, and Total Factor Productivity for 123 countries in the world.
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Currently maintained by The Conference Board.
U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA)
national, international, regional, and industry statistics
USAFacts.org
A not-for-profit civic initiative of former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, USAFacts uses publicly available U.S. government data to provide a "data-driven portrait of the American population, our government’s finances, and government’s impact on society."
World Bank Open Data
Includes access to:
-World Bank DataBank analysis and visualization tool featuring collections of time series data
-Microdata Library, which facilitates access to data collected through sample surveys of households, business establishments or other facilities.
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Also, search online and in the library catalog for World Development Indicators and The Little Data Book publications from The World Bank.
Innovative Data Sources for Economic Analysis
From Dr. Maryann Feldman at University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. Links to an eBook of recommended sources and a "Data Sources Table" reviewing highlighted data sources.