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Political Science *: Economic Policy

Below are links to databases and scholarly web sites that support the study of political science and its related sub-disciplines.

Economic Policy Research Resources

Below are links to databases and electronic resources that support the study of economic policy and related areas of research. For additional resources, GO HERE.

MULTIDISCIPLINARY

Databases that offer multidisciplinary coverage of economic policy literature from scholarly and non-scholarly sources.

  • CQ Researcher --   in-depth, unbiased coverage of health, social trends, criminal justice, international affairs, education, the environment, technology, and the economy. Reports are published weekly 44 times a year.
  • Google Scholar -- the scholarly part of the Google empire. To set up Google Scholar with access to full-text journals and databases, go here.
  • JSTOR -- a multidisciplinary archive of scholarly journal articles covering most major disciplines in the social sciences and humanities. Useful for identifying historical research on a topic.
  • ProQuest -- comprehensive, multidisciplinary database of newspaper, magazine, and scholarly journal articles updated daily. Content is more focused and manageable than Google Scholar.

SPECIALIZED RESEARCH RESOURCES

Key Databases

  • EconLit -- includes comprehensive coverage of research on economics, economic, policy, and econometrics derived from peer-reviewed journal articles, working papers from leading universities, doctoral dissertations, books, collective volume articles, conference proceedings, and book reviews. There is up-to-date coverage with nearly 1.3 million records and coverage as far back as 1886. Nearly 65,000 entries are added each year.
  • Research Papers in Economics (RePEc) -- a collaborative effort of hundreds of volunteers in many countries to enhance the dissemination of research in economics created by the US Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. The database is open-access and most of its contents can be downloaded in full text.

Related Research Databases and Directories

  • ABI/Inform -- database features thousands of full-text journals, dissertations, working papers, key business and economics periodicals such as the Economist, country-and industry-focused reports, and downloadable data related to all aspects of business.
  • America: History and Life -- database that covers the history of the United States and Canada. It includes key English-language historic journals, selected historic journals from major countries, state and local history journals, and selected relevant journals in the social sciences and humanities.
  • Economic Reports of the President -- digital archive of this publication available from the FRASER (Federal Reserve Archival System for Economic Research) database at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. Their first copy dates from 1947, when this publication began.
  • FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data) – this database offers more than 530,000 U. S. and international time series from 87 sources. Content is updated regularly and allows access to regional and national financial and economic data and also offers very extensive charting and downloading facilities.
  • NBER Working Papers -- provides access to National Bureau of Economic Research research papers including titles from the Working Papers, Technical Working Papers, and Development of the American Economy series, which are intended to make NBER research results available to other economists in preliminary form to encourage discussion and suggestions for revision before final publication. The full text of working papers are available online from November 1994 to the present.

ANOTHER PERSPECTIVE

Databases that offer the opportunity to understand and contemplate the implications of policy decisions through the eyes of those who may be most impacted by those decisions.

  • Chicano Database -- bibliographic index focuses on the Mexican-American and Chicano experience, and the broader Latino experience of Puerto Ricans, Cuban Americans and Central American immigrants since 1992. Covers Chicano/a art, education, folklore, health. history, labor, language and literature, music, politics, public policy, religion, sociology, and women's studies.
  • Ethnic NewsWatch -- includes current and archival coverage of newspapers, magazines and journals from ethnic and minority presses. Very important database for gaining a perspective and an understanding of civic engagement from underrepresented groups and minorities.
  • GenderWatch -- a full-text database that focus on the impact of gender across a broad spectrum of subject areas. Publications include academic and scholarly journals, magazines, newspapers, newsletters, regional publications, books, booklets and pamphlets, conference proceedings, and government, NGO and special reports.
  • LGBT Life -- the premier resource to the world\'s literature regarding Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender and Transsexual issues with coverage that includes traditional academic, lifestyle, and regional publications, as well as non-periodical content such as non-fiction books, bibliographies and dissertations.

DATA AND STATISTICS

  • American FactFinder – provides access to data about the United States, Puerto Rico and the Island Areas. The data come from several censuses and surveys, including the Economic Census providing a detailed portrait of the nation's national to the local level economy once every five years and the Annual Economic Surveys of commercial manufacturing, economic data by industry at various geographic levels, and U.S. and sub-national data by industry for businesses without paid employees.
  • Bureau of Labor Statistics – the principal federal agency responsible for measuring labor market activity and productivity, working conditions, and price changes in the economy.
  • Federal Budget – offers a wealth of information on the U.S. federal budget. Besides the budget itself (which is in considerable detail), one can also find a wealth of historical and some forecasted information (some of the data starts in 1901). Data is available in spreadsheet format from 1996 to the present.
  • USA Trade Online – this is a joint project of the Commerce Department's STAT-USA and the Census' Foreign Trade Division. It offers very detailed U.S. merchandise trade data. Specifically, it offers data on the export and import of more than 18,000 commodities.

Descriptions of resources are adapted or quoted from vendor websites.

Organizations

  • American Economic Association -- a non-profit, non-partisan, scholarly organization dedicated to the discussion and publication of economics research.
  • American Enterprise Institute -- a public policy think tank dedicated to promoting free enterprise, American global leadership, and a pluralistic, entrepreneurial culture.
  • Brookings Institution -- a nonprofit public policy organization that conducts in-depth research that leads to new ideas for solving problems facing society at the local, national and global level. Research topics cover foreign policy, economics, development, governance, and metropolitan policy.
  • Cato Institute -- research organization dedicated to analysis of and advocacy for public policy issues that support principles of individual liberty, limited government, free markets, and peace.
  • Center for Continuing Study of the California Economy -- independent, private economic research organization that provides information on the long-term economic and demographic trends in California to aid both the public and private sector in making long-term strategic plans regarding business decisions and public policy.
  • Center for Economic Policy Analysis – focuses on issues related to macroeconomic policy, inequality and poverty, and globalization. Among the available items are their newsletter, working papers, information on projects, data resources, and information on their staff.
  • Center for the History of Political Economy – promotes and supports research in, and the teaching of, the history of economics. A unique resource is the "Economists' Papers Project," a large collection of the academic papers of important economists of the past and present.
  • Economic Policy Institute -- a nonpartisan think tank conducts research and analysis for the purpose of advocating for the needs of low- and middle-income workers in economic policy discussions related to fair pay, affordable health care, and retirement security. The organization proposes public policies that protect and improve the economic conditions of low- and middle-income workers and assesses policies with respect to how they affect those workers.
  • Employee Benefit Research Institute -- nonprofit, nonpartisan organization committed to original public policy research and education on issues of economic security and employee benefits.
  • Milken Institute -- economic think-tank researches the convergence of finance, business, health, philanthropy and policy to advance four areas: the global economy, capital markets and financial institutions, the role of education and human capital, and regional economics and demographics.
  • National Bureau of Economic Research -- a private, non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to conducting economic research and to disseminating research findings among academics, public policy makers, and business professionals. Key focus areas include developing new statistical measurements, estimating quantitative models of economic behavior, and analyzing the effects of public policies.
  • National Business and Economics Society -- a multi-disciplinary professional organization which brings together scholars and practitioners who focus on promoting interdisciplinary research of both a theoretical and practical nature related to economics and various fields of business and management.

Descriptions of resources are adapted or quoted from vendor websites.