U.S. Economic Data - Federal
Economic Indicators: A monthly publication that conveniently assembles a wide range of economic data from multiple U.S. government agencies (including many of those listed below). Published by the Joint Economic Committee of Congress by the Council of Economic Advisors.
Balance of Payments: The net value of U.S. international transactions (import/export) with foreign countries, including trade in goods, services and capital transfers. Issued quarterly by Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. Dept. of Commerce.
Building Permits, Housing Starts and Completions: New residential construction statistics are
used to assess the availability of housing, and the demand for real estate loans, and the demand for labor and materials.
A key leading indicator of U.S. economic growth. Issued monthly on a joint basis by the U.S. Census Bureau and U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development, U.S. Dept. of Commerce.
Consumer Price Indexes (CPI) : CPI indexes measure the average change in prices paid for a representative basket of consumer goods and services.
A key measure of inflation, from the consumer perspective. Issued monthly by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Dept. of Labor.
Gross Domestic Product (GDP): GDP measures the sum value of all goods and services produced by the United States. A broad measure of economic growth and an inflationary indicator.
Issued quarterly by the Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. Dept. of Commerce.
Interest Rates: Interest rates for select U.S. Treasury, private money market and capital market instruments.
Issued weekly (Mondays) by the U.S. Federal Reserve Board.
Personal Income and Outlays: The total income of American households from all sources (before and after taxation) and household spending activity. Key measures of consumer purchasing power and optimism.
Issued
monthly by the Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. Dept. of Commerce.
Producer Price Indexes (PPI): A group of indexes that track the average change in the selling price of a representative basket of goods and services. A key and leading indicator of inflation from the producer's perspective. Issued monthly by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor.
Retail Trade: Statistics of current sales estimates at retail and food services stores, and retail inventory levels. Indicators of economic activity, consumer spending behavior. Issued monthly by the U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Dept. of Commerce.
Employment Data: Includes unemployment rate and payroll records of hours worked and wages earned. Unemployment rate changes tend to lag changes in U.S. economic growth ("lagging indicator"). Issued monthly by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor.
Economic Time Series Page: A meta-site providing centralized access to over 200,000 economic time series data used for economic research and forecasting. Includes both U.S. macroeconomic data and regional data.
U.S. Economic Data - Regional
EconData.net: Provides central access to 1,000 regional sources of U.S. economic data. A privately developed site
supported by the Economic Development Administration and the Bureau of the Census of the U.S. Department of Commerce.
U.S. Government Reports
Beige Book: A report on the state of the U.S. economy. Published eight times per year by the U.S. Federal Reserve Board.
U.S. Economic Census: A profile of the U.S. economy, updated every five years with over 1,000 reports for specific industries and regions. Published by the U.S. Census Bureau.
Economic Report of the President: Prepared annually by the executive branch for the U.S. Congress. Emphasizes the current administration's economic initiatives, recent economic performance and economic outlook.
U.S. Government Statistics
FedStats:
A central source for social, economic and geographic statistical data collected and published by more than 100 federal agencies. Statistics can be searched topically or geographically via a U.S. map.
International Economics
Index of Economic Freedom: Ranks the level of government interference in the economy ("economic freedom ranking") for 161 countries. Jointly presented by the Wall Street Journal and the Heritage Group.
Penn World Table:
Provides comparative tables for purchasing power parity, national income data and key international statistics such as population for 188 countries from 1950-2004. Maintained by
the Center for International Comparisons of Production, Income and Prices, University of Pennsylvania.
Background Notes: These summary country reports provide concise government, political and economic information for the world's nations. Date of last update provided for each report. Published regularly by regional bureaus of the U.S. State Department.
Economists and Economic History
History of Economic Thought: A collection of links and information on the history of economic thought. Hosted by the Economics Department of The New School for Social Research.
Nobel Prize in Economics: The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2006 has been awarded annually since 1996. Site provides biographies, interviews and other resources for Nobel laureates.
Internet Resources
Resources for Economists on the Internet:
Annotated guide to Internet resources for economics. Sponsored by the American Economic Association.
Economics Search Engine:
Searchable index of over 11,000 economics web sites. Sponsored by the American Economic Association.
FreeLunch.com:
User-friendly site providing more than 165 million economic, financial, and demographic time series for more than 180 countries and country sub-regions. Data can be output in either chart or table format, or downloaded. Users must register to use.
A free service provided by Moody's Economy.com
Organizations
American Economic Association: An association dedicated to economic research, discussion and publication. Over 18,000 members.
Economics Departments, Institutes and Research Centers in the World: Index of
over 10,000 economic institutions worldwide. Maintained by the University of Connecticut.
