Research Guides: *Economics: Data Sources

US Economic Data

NBER Data
The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) hosts data covering the U.S. economy, industry, and international trade.
Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED)
economic data from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Statistical Abstract of the United States
The ProQuest Statistical Abstract of the United States is the authoritative and comprehensive summary of statistics on the social, political and economic conditions of the United States.
Tutorials:
Statistical Abstract of the U.S. ProQuest LibGuide

Abbreviation: saus
Vendor: ProQuest
Coverage: 1973–Current
Subjects: Demography and Population Studies, Public Health, Statistics, Urban and Regional Planning
Type: Datasets / Statistics

Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)
The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes data on unemployment and consumer prices, as well as a host of data related to the U.S. labor force.
Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA)
The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) compiles extensive data on gross domestic product (GDP), personal income, and corporate profits.
Congressional Budget Office (CBO)
The Congressional Budget Office provides data on federal spending and revenue, projections of future spending and deficits, and forecasts.
Measuringwealth.com
The worth of monetary transactions is also difficult to measure. While a price, wage, or other kinds of transaction can be recorded at a precise point in time, the worth of the amount must be interpreted.
ALFRED (ArchivaL Federal Reserve Economic Data) ALFRED® allows you to retrieve vintage versions of economic data available on specific dates in history. Economic data for past observation periods are revised as more accurate estimates become available. Previous vintages of data can be superseded and may no longer be available from various data sources. Vintage or real time economic data allows academics to reproduce others' research, build more accurate forecasting models, and analyze economic policy decisions using the data available at the time. Free.
Real-Time Data Set (Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia)
The real-time data set consists of vintages, or snapshots, of time series of major macroeconomic variables. The data set may be used by macroeconomic researchers to verify empirical results, to analyze policy, or to forecast. New vintages are added monthly.
Research Papers in Economics (RePEc)
RePEc (Research Papers in Economics) is a collaborative effort of hundreds of volunteers in 102 countries to enhance the dissemination of research in Economics and related sciences. The heart of the project is a decentralized bibliographic database of working papers, journal articles, books, books chapters and software components, all maintained by volunteers. The collected data are then used in various services that serve the collected metadata to users or enhance it. So far, over 2,000 archives from 102 countries have contributed about 3.5 million research items from 3,600 journals and 5,300 working paper series. Over 62,000 authors have registered and 80,000 email subscriptions are served every week. See below on how you can be part of this initiative.

International Economic Data

IMF eLibrary
The International Monetary Fund's (IMF) eLibrary simplifies analysis and research with direct access to the IMF’s periodicals, books, working papers and studies, and data and statistical tools. You will find information and perspective on macroeconomics, globalization, development, trade and aid, technical assistance, demographics, emerging markets, policy advice, poverty reduction, and so much more.
Note: On January 1, 2020, the IMF made the eLibrary platform free to all users. Some features of the IMF sites require users to create a personal account.

RSS Feed:
RSS List

Tutorials:
eLibrary Startup Guide
IMF eLibrary User Tutorial (10:07)
Frequently Asked Questions

Abbreviation: imf
Vendor: IMF
Subjects: Finance
Type: Datasets / Statistics, Open Access
OECD
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development provides access to publications (reports, research papers, policy papers, briefs, and datasets) and is a knowledge hub for regional and global engagement and best practices in public policy.
Tutorials:
User Guide

Subjects include:
Agriculture and Food
Development
Economics
Education
Employment
Energy
Environment
Finance and Investment
Governance
Industry and Services
Nuclear Energy
Science and Technology
Social Issues/Migration/Health
Taxation
Trade
Transport
Urban, Rural and Regional Development

Abbreviation: sourceoecd
Vendor: OECD
Subjects: Anthropology, Art, Business, Communication, Criminology and Criminal Justice, Demography and Population Studies, Economics, Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, Geography, Higher Education, Human Development & Family Science, Information Studies, International Affairs, Law, Music Education, Political Science, Psychology, Public Administration and Policy, Public Health, Retail Entrepreneurship, Sociocultural and International Education, Urban and Regional Planning
Type: Datasets / Statistics, Directories, E-Book Collections, E-Journal Collections
World Bank Open Knowledge Repository (OKR)
The World Bank Open Knowledge Repository (OKR) is The World Bank’s official open-access repository for its research outputs and knowledge products.
Abbreviation: wbokr
Vendor: The World Bank Group
Subjects: International Affairs, Urban and Regional Planning
Type: E-Book Collections
Global Commodities: Trade, Exploration and Cultural Exchange
Explore the histories of fifteen key commodities that changed the world through a wide range of manuscript sources, rare books, maps, advertising, paintings, photographs, and ephemera. One of the most popular ways of teaching World History is through the story of global commodities and the way in which these transformed the world. This resource focuses on the following fifteen significant commodities whose stories are often intertwined: chocolate, coffee, cotton, fur, oil, opium, porcelain, silver & gold, spices, sugar, tea, timber, tobacco, and wine & spirits.
Abbreviation: gc
Vendor: Adam Matthew Digital Ltd
Subjects: Business, Food, International Affairs
Type: Government Publications, Historical / Primary Sources, Images, Indexes / Catalogs, Maps, Reports
UNdata
UNdata is a data access system to UN databases. The United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD) of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) launched a new internet-based data service for the global user community. It brings UN statistical databases within easy reach of users through a single entry point. Users can now search and download a variety of statistical resources of the UN system.
Abbreviation: undata
Vendor: United Nations
Subjects: Demography and Population Studies, International Affairs
Type: Datasets / Statistics, Government Publications, Open Access
United Nations Commodity Trade Statistics Database (UNComtrade)
The United Nations Commodity Trade Statistics Database (UN Comtrade) is considered the most comprehensive trade database that contains detailed imports and exports statistics of close to 200 countries or areas. It concerns annual trade data from 1962 to the most recent year.
Abbreviation: uncomtr
Vendor: United Nations
Coverage: 1962–Current
Subjects: Business, International Affairs
Type: Datasets / Statistics, Indexes / Catalogs
CIA World Factbook
The World Factbook provides information on the history, people, government, economy, geography, communications, transportation, military, and transnational issues for 265 world entities. The Maps tab includes maps of the major world regions, as well as Flags of the World, a Physical Map of the World, a Political Map of the World, a World Oceans map, and a Standard Time Zones of the World map.
Abbreviation: ciawfb
Vendor: Central Intelligence Agency
Subjects: Demography and Population Studies, Political Science
Type: Datasets / Statistics, Government Publications
Europa World Plus
Europa World Plus is the online version of the Europa World Year Book and the nine-volume Europa Regional Surveys of the World series. First published in 1926, the year book covers political and economic information in more than 250 countries and territories.
Regions Covered:
Africa South of the Sahara
Central and South-Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe, Russia and Central Asia
The Far East and Australasia
The Middle East and North Africa
South America, Central America and the Caribbean
South Asia
USA and Canada
Western Europe

Abbreviation: europa
Vendor: Taylor and Francis Group
Subjects: Asian Studies, Encyclopedias & Dictionaries, International Affairs, Latin American & Caribbean Studies, Middle Eastern Studies, Russian & Eastern European Studies
Type: Datasets / Statistics, Encyclopedias & Dictionaries
International Monetary Fund Macroeconomic & Financial Data
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.
Note: Access to the IMF Data Legacy Portal ends May 31, 2025. For questions or assistance, visit the Data Help page or contact DataHelp@imf.org.
Abbreviation: unimf
Vendor: IMF
Subjects: International Affairs, Statistics
Type: Datasets / Statistics, Government Publications, Open Access
World Development Indicators
World Development Indicators contains statistical figures from the World Bank, including almost 600 development indicators going back to 1960 for over 200 countries and eighteen country groups include social, economic, financial, and more.
Abbreviation: wdi
Vendor: The World Bank Group
Coverage: 1960–Current
Subjects: African-American Studies, Asian Studies, Business, Demography and Population Studies, Economics, Latin American & Caribbean Studies, Middle Eastern Studies, Public Health, Public Safety and Security, Russian & Eastern European Studies, Women's and Gender Studies
Type: Datasets / Statistics, Historical / Primary Sources, Open Access