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AMERICAN ECONOMY

The below online resources have national, regional or state information. Some sites are limited to resources on only one level, while others combine more than one level (for example, regional and state information).  The following types of websites were utilized in compiling this page: federal government agencies, academic departmental and academic library pages, professional associations/organizations, and "think tanks."

For related information, please see the following J&W Univ. Library subject sites: DEMOGRAPHICS & POPULATION: U.S.;  FEDERAL GOVERNMENT;  FINANCE & INVESTMENTS;  NATIONAL, STATE & LOCAL INFORMATION;  STATE INFORMATION; and STATISTICS: U.S.


Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA)

• Affiliated with the U.S. Department of Commerce, this federal agency computes statistical data on national, industrial, regional and international economic accounts, which "... enable government and business decision-makers, researchers and the American public to follow and understand the performance of the Nation's economy"
• Responsible for the compilation of data on gross domestic product (GDP), gross product and input-output data of industry, balance of payments and related data, gross state product (GSP), state personal income, exports/imports, capital flow
• Provides quarterly "Overview of the Economy" from 1999 to the present
• Contains tutorial
• One of the most important resources for statistical analysis for domestic and international economic activity in the U.S.


Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)

• Primary statistical site for the U.S. Department of Labor
• "Economy at a glance" provides up-to-date statistics on the American economy (regional, state and metropolitan areas, industrial sector)
• The primary source for statistical information for the following: employment, earnings/wages, worker safety and health, productivity, inflation and spending
• Also links to the BLS's online magazines, international statistics, FEDSTATS, the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) and other statistical sites
• Outstanding; the best official source for any labor/employment-related data on the American workforce; one of the most popular and heavily utilized federal websites


Business and Economics

• Maintained by the University of Colorado Librarires, Boulder (UCLB)
• Provides federal government links and other research links to current information on the American economy
• Links to sites for national, regional and state information; also provides links to relevant international sites
• Annotations accompany many (but not all) links
• One of the best and most well-organized sites for accessing U.S. economic data in one place


County Business Patterns

• Sponsored by the U.S. Census Bureau; "an annual series that provides subnational economic data by industry"
• Provides county economic data for each state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and a national summary
• Covers agricultural, extractive, manufacturing and service industries
• Documents currently available from 1993 to the present
• Excellent; one of the primary sources for "benchmarking" the American economy between economic censuses


Current Industrial Reports

• Sponsored by the U.S. Census Bureau
• Provides statistical reports for manufacturing, mining, and construction industries (14 topical groupings with 62 industry sub-sectors)
• Reports retrievable by subject
• Each sub-sector report provides an overview, statistical analysis of the industry and links to related reports
• Links to related federal sites
• Great resource for statistical data on specific industries


Econ Data & Links (ED&L)

• Maintained by Dr. John Shaw, Economics Department, California State University at Fresno
• Provides links to current statistics for the American economy for the following areas: labor force and earnings, productivity, income and wealth, money, interest rates, price indexes, economic indicators and additional related sites
• Additional links to companies, directories, university libraries, financial institutions, government sites, conferences; also links to specific sites relating to California's economy
• One of the earliest sites of its type on the Internet and still one of the best


EconData.Net

• Maintained by Andrew Reamer & Associates and Impresa, Inc.; sponsored by Economic Development Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce
• "Designed to help practitioners, researchers, students, and other data users quickly gain access to relevant state and sub-state socioeconomic data; ... "aims to be a convenient comprehensive first stop for anyone searching among the vast, disparate array of public and private data sources on the Web"
• "1,000 links to socioeconomic data sources arranged by subject and provider"
• "Data Collections" links to sites by provider (government agencies, academic/research institutes, professional organizations); providers are listed alphabetically within 10 data-type categories ("Economic Analyses and Forecasts," "Statistical Compendia," etc.); annotations accompany each link
• "Quick Links" links to sites for the following categories: demography, employment, occupation, income, output & trade, prices, economic assets, quality of life, industry sectors, firm listings; each category is divided into sub-categories; no annotations
• All sites which offer a combination of free data/fee-based data or strictly fee-based data are identified
• "Ten Best Sites" identifies those sites which EconData.Net considers "gems" for their comprehensiveness and ease-of-navigation
• "User's Guide" is a free, 100-page downloadable guide to conducting research on the American economy
• Free monthly newsletter "StatScan;" registration required (but it's free!)
• Outstanding; comprehensive and very user-friendly, this site is the best place to start in-depth research on regional, state, substate economic data; also, does an excellent job of tying social data to economic data


Economic Indicators: 1995 -- Forward

• Published monthly by the Council of Economic Advisors for Joint Economic Committee of the U.S. Congress
• Provides links to the following indicators: output; income and spending; employment, unemployment and wages; production and business activity; prices; money, credit and security markets; federal finance; international statistics
• Ability to search from 1995 to the present
• Can be downloaded by entire monthly issue or by individual indicators (total of 37)
• Excellent; one of the best official sources for U.S. economic indicators


Economic Indicators.gov

• Maintained by the Economics and Statistics Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce
• "Our mission is to provide timely access to the daily releases of key economic indicators from the Bureau of Economic Analysis and the U.S. Census Bureau"
• Links to 18 primary indicators; data on each indicator includes its source, frequency, timing, previous release date
• Free update service available by e-mail or fax
• Also available in Spanish
• Excellent source for automatic releases of economic indicators


Economic Policy Institute (EPI)

• "The mission of the Economic Policy Institute is to provide high-quality research and education in order to promote a prosperous, fair, and sustainable economy"
• Presents current news items and links them to EPI analytical reports and appropriate documents (when available)
• "Issue Guides" provide charts, data, fact sheets and links to topics; currently available are guides for the "living wage," minimum wage, Social Security, poverty and family budgets, retirement security
• "Viewpoints" are opinion pieces by EPI staff on a variety of controversial topics; archived from 1998 to the present
• "Web Features" include "Datazone," economic indicators, economic "snapshot," online calculator
• Most articles and opinion pieces deal with the American economy, but there is some coverage of international economic issues
• Outstanding; with a full panoply of economic issues, this is one of the best sites for broad-based analysis of the American economy from a variety of opposing viewpoints


Economic Report of the President (ERP)

• Sponsored by the Executive Office of the President of the United States/General Printing Office (GPO)
• Contains the 2005 ERP (downloadable in .pdf) and previous reports from 1994 to the present
• Contains a detailed analysis of the following: macroeconomic performance, corporate governance/reform, labor markets, regulation, tax policy
• Includes statistical tables in spreadsheet format
• "A Citizen's Guide to the Federal Budget" (under "Related Budget Documents") provides an excellent introduction to understanding the federal budget
• Searchable
• Best source for an overview of the American economy/budget from the Executive Office perspective


Economic Statistics Briefing Room

• Sponsored by the White House
• Provides current statistical data for the following topics: employment, income, international trade, money, output, prices, production and transportation
• Each topic provides graphs and basic statistics for a variety of relevant sub-topics
• Each topic has links to the agency (or agencies) producing the data; also, graphs can be enlarged for reproduction
• Constantly updated by contributing agencies
• Companion site — Social Briefing Room - provides data on crime, demographics, education and health
• This excellent site is one of the best on the Web, due to its authority, currency and navigability


Monthly Labor Review Online

• Sponsored by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), U.S. Department of Labor
• This online version ot the print publication provides up-to-date material on a variety of labor issues and trends
• The primary part of each issue consists of several articles devoted to a variety of relevant labor issues (with excerpts in HTML; full text in Adobe Acrobat (.pdf format)
• "Labor month in review" offers brief commentary on current news topics and trends
• "Current Labor Statistics" links to appropriate BLS statistical tables
• Also includes book reviews, letters-to-the-editor
• Archived from 1988
• Excellent source for current data and historical research; one of the best resources for up-to-date commentary and statistics


National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. (NBER)

• Formerly affiliated with Harvard University, this institute is a "private, nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization dedicated to promoting a greater understanding of how the economy works"
• Provides access to "working papers" generated by the institute
• Also links to NBER books, books-in-progress, research projects, employment and fellowship opportunities
• "Free weekly email updates of the latest Working Papers and Books"
• Outstanding; this is considered by many to be one of the most influential institutes for formulating policy about the American economy


New England Economic Indicators

• Monthly publication of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, Economic Research Division
• "Provides current and historical economic data from the New England states"
• Some data is available at other websites, but this page includes unpublished series
• Includes feature articles, including topics such as economic performance, regional employment, financial conditions of the region
• Each issue's tables are accessible by subject
• Links to additional indicator sites sponsored by the federal government and industry organizations
• Best official site for a current picture of New England's economy


Northeast Midwest Institute (NMI)

• "The Northeast Midwest Institute is a Washington-based, private, non-profit, and non-partisan research organization dedicated to economic vitality, environmental quality, and regional equity for Northeast and Midwest states"
• This policy center is affiliated with the Congress through the Northeast-Midwest Congressional and Senate Coalitions
• "Economic Data" links to statistical tables for the following: demographics/prices, economic growth, employment/income/housing, energy, federal spending, national economic indicators
• "State Economic Profiles" links to the following data for individual states: "Labor Market," "Economic Activity," "Government Spending," "Demographics"
• All statistical sources utilized in creating this site are identified
• "Reports" and "Policy Studies" provide analysis/commentary on a variety of economic, environmental and energy issues; also includes policy/research analysis/commentary on sub-regional issues ("Middle Atlantic," "Great Lakes," "Upper Mississippi")
• "Reports" and "Policy Studies" research studies vary in length, but all are very well-written, with many links to government sites and professional organizations
• "Resources" links to federal sites, media (primarily print with some TV/cable), state government agencies
• Outstanding; the NMI does an excellent job of providing access to timely statistical data (topically and by state) through in-depth report/policy studies; definitely the best, most direct source for information on the 18 states which comprises the Northeast and the Midwest


Pulling Apart: State-by-State Analysis of Income Trends

• Sponsored by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and the Economic Policy Institute
• Published in January 2000, this report contends that income gaps between high and low income families widened in 46 states
• Revised in April 2002 to reflects updated census data
• Includes state fact sheets
• Provides tables ranking states by a variety of income inequity criterias
• Can be downloaded by section or entire report
• One of the most significant reports on regional economies in recent years


Regional Economic Indicators by State

• Compiled by Didi Caldwell for the Moore School of Business, Research Division, University of South Carolina
• Links to economic research/development agencies for 41 states
• Provides web links, addresses, phone numbers and e-mail addresses when available
• The number of publications/reports issued by agencies varies from state to state
• Excellent; one of the best sites for researching a state's current economy and for forecasting trends


Regional Information

• Maintained by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)
• Links to BLS Information Offices in 8 regions
• Each regional office's information includes a "snapshot" of the region's economy, regional census data, statistics on wages/earnings/benefits and news
• Also includes information regarding BLS's policies, programs and resources
• Excellent; best official source for data on America's regional economies


Report on the American Workforce 2001

• Sponsored by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)
• This special report - over 200 pages - is the 5th in a series, which began in 1994
• Traces the development of improved wages and working conditions for American workers during the 20th century
• Provides timelines for business cycles, social and economic events, legislative and regulatory benchmarks and technological developments
• Can be downloaded using Adobe Acrobat (.pdf format)
• Even though the emphasis of the document is historical in nature, it provides an excellent backdrop against which current labor issues can be evaluated


State Fact Sheets (USDA/ERS)

• Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service
• Links to statistical graphs relating to population/income/employment, farm financial indicators, additional agricultural statistics
• Browse "Key Topics" in 22 categories
• Provides U.S. summary, in addition to state links
• Data gathered from other government sources, including Bureau of Labor Statistics, Census Bureau
• Best official source for agricultural statistical data by state


Statistical Resources on the Web: Comprehensive Economics

• Maintained by Grace York for the University of Michigan Documents Center (UMDC)
• Excellent, user-friendly site for comprehensive economic research
• Includes links for American business, finance, industry, labor and related topics
• Links to topics not usually covered by other pages (gross city statistics, etc.)
• Outstanding; like other UMDC pages, this one is thorough, well-annotated and of value to researchers at all levels


Statistical Resources on the Web: Cost of Living

• Maintained by Grace York for the University of Michigan Documents Center (UMDC)
• Excellent, user-friendly site for cost-of-living statistics
• Links to comparative cost-of-living statistics (domestic and international), consumer expenditure surveys, consumer/producer price indexes
• Outstanding; like other UMDC pages, this one is thorough, well-annotated and of value to researchers at all levels


Survey of Current Business

• Monthly journal of Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA)
• Presents articles and statistical data about international, national and regional economies
• Available in Adobe Acrobat (.pdf format)
• Archived from 1994
• Great for up-to-date overview of current economic conditions


Working in the 21st Century

• Maintained by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)
• This report, "a portrait of the U.S. workforce at the beginning of the New Millenium," offers a projection of trends which are currently affecting and which will affect the U.S. labor market in coming years
• Examines 18 topics/trends which include demographic, technological and education/training issues
• Each topic/trend offers a brief description and includes graphs/statistical information
• All sources utilized in compiling graphs/statistical information are identified (most are federal government sites)
• Great for an overview of projected trends in the U.S. labor market in upcoming years


Websites discussed on this page are for informational purposes only. Johnson & Wales University Library is not responsible for the accuracy, content, or stability of any websites linked to this page.

Compiled by Rick Keogh 10/01; updated 1/04; links last checked 10/07

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