ECONOMICS ON THE INTERNET

 A multitude of resources is available on the Internet relating to economics.  The resources can be used to learn the field of economics and as a source of data for economic analysis. This note contains information as of June 2000.  Addresses are revised and pages updated continuously, so I can’t vouch for the accuracy of the references after June 2000.

 This note also reflects the field I teach -- global political economy.  Although there are many sources relating to other fields in economics available on the Internet, I have not investigated them as thoroughly.  Finding additional sources is not difficult because of the links between sources.  Moreover, you may find unexpected treasures through serendipity.  I frequently rely on students for leads; they seem to have time and talent for finding resources I haven’t yet encountered.

WHERE TO START

Three comprehensive sites

 Here are two convenient, comprehensive starting points for economists on the Internet and a third site containing a glossary of economic terms.  These sites are so helpful that you’ll want to enter them as bookmarks.  I go to the first two frequently to begin searches for information.  They are updated frequently and many other economics sources are linked to them.

1. WebEc http://www.helsinki.fi/WebEc/

 This is one of the most comprehensive sites dealing with economics, containing references to sources of information, publications, discussion groups, jobs for economists and home pages maintained by professionals in the field.  The site is maintained by the Helsinki School of Economics in Finland and is mirrored in Japan, the US and the UK.

 WebEc has a category for Economics Data.  However, additional data can be found at sources listed under each of the fields of economics.  For example, under Regional Economics you can find data sources for Latin America, India, Russia and several other countries.

2. Resources for Economists on the Internet http://econwpa.wustl.edu/EconFAQ/EconFAQ.html

 Resources for Economists on the Internet is another comprehensive site listing numerous sources relating to economics.   Resources for Economists on the Internet has several categories for economic data -- U.S. Macro and Regional Data, Other U.S. Data, World and Non-U.S. Data, and Finance and Financial Markets.  Nested in these sources are links to other comprehensive sources of data.

3. AmosWeb  http://www.amosweb.com/

 AmosWeb is evolving into a comprehensive economics site oriented toward users of economic information. AmosWeb is very helpful if you need to define an economics term because it has a glossary, Gloss*arama, that defines terms and links to related terms.  Whenever you have a question about a term or concept in economics, look it up here.

GLOBAL ORGANIZATIONS

 The World Bank http://www.worldbank.org/ maintains a home page relevant to many of the bank’s activities -- publications, job openings, country analyses.  For example, to obtain the most recent regional analysis of Asia or country report on China, click on “Regions and Countries” at the home page.  The analyses include discussion of economic and political factors and the Bank’s involvement in the country. Neither the World Bank nor the IMF makes available over the Internet their complete database of economic information; the data is available for purchase, however.

One helpful site at the World Bank is "Competitive Indicators” http://wbln0018.worldbank.org/psd/compete.nsf/, which provides a "collection of 49 indicators to quickly assess economic performance and the environment for competitive business development in a large number of countries. .... These indicators reveal aspects of competitiveness or the conditions for achieving competitiveness for firms and industries in a particular country."  Indicators are listed in 5 categories: overall performance, macro and market dynamism, financial dynamism, infrastructure and investment climate, and human resources.

 The International Monetary Fund http://www.imf.org/ also maintains a home page relevant to its activities.  Like the World Bank, the IMF site is oriented toward individuals desiring publications or information concerning the institution.  In some instances the “Country Info” page contains references to the central bank and finance minister for that country. Neither the World Bank nor the IMF makes available over the Internet their complete database of economic information; the data is available for purchase, however.

IMF Staff Country Reports are available from the IMF in hard-copy form for $15. However, the reports can be downloaded free of charge from the IMF website. To locate and download a report on Thailand, for example, do the following:

1. Go to the IMF website: http://www.imf.org/
2. Click on "Publications" on the left side of the page.
3. Use the "Search IMF Publications" feature:
Subject: Thailand
Series:  IMF Staff Country Reports
Click on "search"
4. The search yields several Thailand publications, including the most recent Staff Country Report and a Statistical Appendix.
5. Click on "Thailand - Selected Issues"
6. Click on "Full Text in PDF Format" (This will load the complete publication using the Adobe Acrobat reader.  These publications frequently are 80-100 pages long, so you may want to read it in Adobe Acrobat rather than printing it. The Statistical Appendices files are not as large.)

 The World Trade Organization http://www.wto.org/ home page contains summaries of its most recent decisions together with a history of GATT and international trade.  The site also contains data relating to international trade, including links to other sites containing trade data.

 The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development http://www.oecd.org/ home page provides an explanation and history of the agency, job openings and publications.  A selection of statistics is available on-line, but because of the organization's focus on developed countries, statistics are available mainly for those countries.

Three examples of statistics that are available using Adobe Acrobat are:
1. The 1999 edition of OECD in Figures: http://www.oecd.org/publications/figures/
2. A comprehensive data set of Euro Area Data: http://www.oecd.org