| By: | Daniel
F. Ring Assistant Professor |
Phone: (248)
370-2498 E-mail: ring@oakland.edu |
The choice of encyclopedias is indeed meager. Despite its title The New Palgrave : A Dictionary of Economics (Ref. HB 61 .N49 1987) is the closest thing we have to an encyclopedia. Four volumes in length, its entries range from a page or so up to ten pages. Bibliographies are included. A related title is The New Palgrave Dictionary of Money and Finance (Ref. HG 151 .N48 1992). There is also a five-volume set, Survey of Social Science (Ref. HB 61 .S94 1991) which does function as an encyclopedia if not in name. Terms are defined and then an overview, application, context and bibliography are presented. Entries tend to be 4-5 pages in length. Encyclopedia of American Economic History (Ref. HC 103 .E52) is a three-volume set that presents comprehensive articles by the top people in the field. This is a fine place to explore a topic as you can see what the literature is. The Oxford Encyclopedia of Economic History (Ref. HC 15 .O94 2003) is the latest title in our collection. Five volumes in length, the articles are scholarly. Related, but not as good, is the Gale Encyclopedia of U.S. Economic History (Ref. HC 101 .G35). The entries are not comprehensive and lack the authority of the former titles.
Another encyclopedia with a more narrow focus is An Encyclopedia of Keynesian Economics (Ref. HB 99.7 .E528 1997) which covers biographies of economists associated with Keynesian theory, brief sketches of principle models and tools used by Keynesian theorists and there are longer pieces of 4000-6000 words which deal with specific topics in Keynesian thought. There are a number of other dictionaries and encyclopedias in the HB 61 area.
There are also online dictionaries, among them: Online Glossary of Economic Research, Glossary of Economic Terms, The Economics Glossary and Economicae: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Economics .
PERIODICALS
EconLit, covers scholarly articles from 1969- current.
ABI-INFORM is good for business sources including economics. Coverage is 1969- current.
SocSciAbs covers scholarly sources from 1983- current.
JSTOR provides back files to 13 academic economics journals.
WilsonBusiness provides full text articles for an academic audience.
Social Sciences Citation Index . Indexes and cites scholarly articles.
HANDBOOK
Economic Indicators Handbook (Ref. HC 103 .E26 1994) includes statistical series that measure the United States economy such as GDP and GNP.
SUNDRY
OECD Economic Surveys United States (Ref. HC 106.5 .O7 1996-1997) includes both narrative and statistical information on such topics as trends and developments, structural developments and macroeconomic policies. There are surveys for many other countries. Go to the Library Catalog and look up Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development as an author.
Economic Report of the President (Ref. HC 106.5 .A272 2002) issued annually includes the annual report of the council of economic advisors and the prospects for the economy in the year ahead. Also online. Click here.
The Official Guide To Household Spending (Ref. HC 110 .C6 A666); The Official Guide to the Generations (Ref. HC 110 .C6 M545 1995) and The Official Guide to American Incomes (Ref. HC 110 .I5 R 87 1995) provide statistical information on just what their titles suggest. Also look at Statistical Handbook on Consumption and Wealth in the United States (Ref. HC 110.C6 S73 1999).
Guide to Economic Indicators (Ref. HC 103 .F9 2000) explains the features of 70 economic indicators.The Value of a Dollar (Ref. HB 235 .U6 V35 2004) records the prices of commodities from 1860-2004.
INTERNET SOURCES
Meta Browsers WWW Virtual Library: International Affairs Resources, which is good for international business and statistics. Social Science Information Gateway: Economics Gateway has several sub-topics, such as economic history, political economy and macroeconomics. Another fine source is the Internet Public Library's Economic Resources. Sites are arranged alphabetically and cover a variety of topics.Take a look at Yahoo's Economics. This site is arranged by categories such as Currency, Game Theory and Global Economy. Economic Resources on the Internet is very useful because sites are annotated. Resources for Economists on the Internet lists over 1600 resources in 97 topics and most of the resources are annotated.
Other worthwhile sites include Worldwide Web Resources in Economics. It is especially strong on governmental (international), academic and professional associations. Economics is also lacking an overall theme. However pay attention to the links to NAFTA and Statistical Resources on the Web. U.S. Corporate, Industrial and Economic Information is very strong on business and industry and less so on economics. US Economic Data is a good site for governmental and foundation information. StatUSA is a good source for industry, economic and trade. Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development is good for economic and social policy. Be sure to click on Statistics. Economic Profiler provides economic information for Michigan, both at the state and local level. The Michigan Electronic Library's MeL Business, Economics and Labor has a search engine and covers many topics in the subject area including Michigan.
Here are some other resources:World Wide Web Resources in Economics; Subject Based Internet Resources: Economics (good for international data and statistical sites); Economics Resources (no focus here just a collection of electic sites such as Salary Calculator); BUBL LINK is a British site and is good for topics like macroeconomics, trade unions, and labor economics; Internet Resources for Economics covers these topics: General Reference, Information on the Economy, Economic Indicators and Statistics, Federal Reserve Economic Data, Labor Economics and Labor Unions, International Trade and Investment, News and General Interest; Internet Resources for Economists has no central focus. Here you will find blogs, online classics in economics, jokes, quotes, Nobel laureates and much more.The Conference Board (hit the tab "Economics) is good for economic outlook, research and indicators. Bureau of Economic Analysis from the US government provides statistics for national, international, regional and industry accounts. Country Briefings from the Economist provides information on sixty countries. Resources for Economists on the Internet lists more than 1300 resources in such categories as forecasting, data and software. Research Papers in Economics provides access to working papers, articles, books and book chapters. The International Monetary Fund is an "organization of 184 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty." Here one will find country and financial information. The World Bank is good for countries where the World Bank is working and topics in development such as AIDS, debt, corruption. Finance Resources on the Web is organized into several categories such as general finance, financial markets, corporate finance, etc. The Internal Revenue Service provides information on federal tax regulations.
Texts
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