Research and Course Guides: Business & Economics: Economics Websites

U.S. Economic Statistics - Basic Sources

Economy at a Glance Economic indicators from the U.S. Bureau of Labor (BLS) website. Includes statistics on Labor Force & Employment - Hours, Earnings, & Productivity - Consumer & Producer Prices.
Census Economic Indicators Manufacturing; Wholesale & Retail Trade; U.S. International Trade; Construction Spending; Housing Starts; New Home Sales; Home ownership; Household Income; Poverty; and more.
Dismal Scientist Economic analysis of current issues; economic indicators; calculators for stock market valuation, CPI, PPI, mortgages, & installment loans; local area economic profiles, and more.
Wage and Hour Division (Department of Labor) The Wage and Hour mission is to promote and achieve compliance with labor standards to protect and enhance the welfare of the Nation's workforce.
U.S. Debt Clock - National Debt of the United States
Statistical Abstract of the U.S. Summary of statistics on the social, political, and economic organization of the United States.
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Use the Abstract as a volume for statistical reference, and as a guide to sources of more information both in print and on the Web.

U.S. Economic Sources - Specialized Sources

SOI Tax Stats - Statistics of Income A wide range of tables, articles, and data that describe and measure elements of the U.S. tax system.
Social Explorer - Explore Maps Includes the entire US Census (1790 to 2010) and the American Community Survey (2005 to 2018).
National Historical Geographic Information System (NHGIS) Provides access to summary tables and time series of population, housing, agriculture, and economic data, along with GIS-compatible boundary files, for years from 1790 through the present and for all levels of U.S. census geography, including states, counties, tracts, and blocks.
Regional Economic Accounts State and local personal income and gross state product data. Interactive tables are provided to help view and download the data.
USDA Economics, Statistics, and Market Information System Provides quick and timely access to agricultural statistics on the Internet. The system includes nearly 2,500 reports and datasets covering U.S. and international agriculture and related topics. Most reports are text files and most data sets are in spreadsheet format and include time-series data. Also includes International Statistics.
Inforum (EconData) Includes several thousand economic time series, produced by a number of U.S. Government agencies and distributed in a variety of formats and media. These series include national income and product accounts (NIPA), labor statistics, price indices, current business indicators, and industrial production.

Miscellaneous Economic Resources

SC Works Online Services Employment statistics, job forecasts, wages, demographics, and other labor market information
North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)
History of Economic Thought Provides information on famous economists and economic schools of thought. From the Institute for New Economic Thinking.
InflationData.com Specializes in all forms of information about the nature of inflation. This includes current and historical inflation data, the consumer price index, and articles about inflation.

Working Papers

EconWPA Archive The Working Paper Archive (WPA) for all areas of Economics. It is devoted to the free distribution of electronic working papers that have been posted to the site. Both the abstracts and the papers themselves are available through this website, as well as text searches of the abstracts, authors, and titles.
Munich Personal RePEc Archive This repository is intended to serve the interests of economists who want to make their work freely available through the RePEc network but are not affiliated with any institution that provides that furtherance.
National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) Search for particular NBER Working Papers and Reprints by keyword(s), author, title or paper number.

U.S. Government Agencies

Census Bureau Homepage This link opens in a new window Access data from the various census publications.

Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Contains current and historical time series data, as well as the most recent BLS news releases with higher-level aggregate data, for the economic surveys conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. These include: employment and unemployment statistics, consumer prices, producer prices, employment costs, labor-management data, occupational injuries and illnesses, productivity, employment projections, international labor statistics, etc.
Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) Provides timely, relevant and accurate economic data to help promote a better understanding of the U.S. economy.
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) The independent deposit insurance agency created by Congress to maintain stability and public confidence in the nation's banking system. The website provides statistics on banking and financial information on individual banks as well as information on other financial topics.
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System Access current and historical statistics; surveys and reports; working papers (full text 1996 - present); Federal Reserve Bulletin articles
Beige Book Archive (Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis) Summary of Commentary on Current Economic Conditions by Federal Reserve District (1970-present)
Fed in Print A comprehensive index to Federal Reserve economic research
Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond (5th District, including SC, NC, MD, DC, VA, WV)
Fraser (Federal Reserve Archival System for Economic Research) Provides economic information and data to researchers interested in the U. S. economy.
Economic Research Service (U.S. Dept. of Agriculture) The Economic Research Service is a primary source of economic information and research in the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Foreign Agricultural Service - FAS (USDA) Linking U.S. agriculture to the world to enhance export opportunities and global food security.
Global Agricultural Trade System (GATS) GATS includes international agricultural, fish, forest and textile products trade statistics dating from the inception of the Harmonized coding system in 1989 to present.
Office of Textiles and Apparel Provides information on overseas requirements and regulations. The website also includes common trade barriers, U.S. trade data, tariffs and taxes, labeling requirements, and trade agreements.

International Economics & Trade

World Bank The World Bank Group is the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), the International Development Association (IDA), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA). IBRD is the main lending arm of the World Bank. IDA is the World Bank affiliate that lends on concessional terms to the poorest countries. IFC finances private sector projects and advises businesses and governments on investment issues. MIGA promotes foreign direct investment through guarantees, policy advice, and promotional services.
European Central Bank
Food and Agriculture Organization (of the United Nations) - includes FAOSTAT Statistics Database.
Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) Provides a setting where governments compare policy experiences, seek answers to common problems, identify good practice and coordinate domestic and international policies.
Index of Economic Freedom Covers 183 countries across 10 specific freedoms such as trade freedom, business freedom, investment freedom, and property rights.
Statistics Canada Statistics Canada is the country's national statistical agency, with programs organized into three broad subject matter areas: demographic and social, socioeconomic and economic.
World Trade Organization (WTO) The Resources page includes legal texts of WTO agreements, official documents, trade statistics, analysis, publications, and more. See also their Trade Topics page.
U.S. International Trade Administration (ITA) The ITA strengthens the competitiveness of U.S. industry, promotes trade and investment, and ensures fair trade through the rigorous enforcement of our trade laws and agreements. Organized into three business units: Global Markets, Industry and Analysis (I&A), Enforcement and Compliance
Export.Gov Brings together resources from across the U.S. Government to assist American businesses in planning their international sales strategies and succeed in today’s global marketplace.
U.N. Commodity Trade Statistics
Global Edge International Business Resource Desk A collection of thousands of international business resources selected based on content and usability. This section also includes Market Potential Indicators and the Database of International Business Statistics.

Other Guides to Economic Resources

Financial Web A financial economics WWW server managed by James Garven, Assistant Professor in the graduate business school at the University of Texas at Austin. Lists Internet resources such as electronic journals, working papers, and links to other servers providing substantive information concerning economics and finance-related topics of interest to an academic business audience.
Statistical Resources on the Web (Explore GovDocs/MLibrary)