Jump to content - Jump to section navigation
Prepared by Jason Bernard
Research & Instruction Librarian
Fall 2007
This is a guide to library research in the field of Economics. It contains a selective list of resources that may be helpful for getting started. Please consult a reference librarian for additional assistance.
Comments or feedback on this guide are appreciated. You can contact the Reference Department by email.
For help narrowing your subject for research or with help in formulating your questions to make them appropriate for online research, read this brief guide.
Subject encyclopedias provide a broad overview of the current research on a particular topic and a short list (bibliography) of key resources.
New Palgrave: a dictionary of economics
The classic encyclopedia in economics in four volumes with nearly 2000 scholarly articles with bibliographies. Includes biographies.
Main Reference HB61 .N49
Business Monitor International guide to the world's major emerging economies: country analysis and forecast reports, 2000-2002
Detailed appraisal of political risk, macroeconomic performance and outlook, leading industry sectors, capital markets and business environment for 21 emerging markets countries.
Main Reference HC59.69 .B867 2000
Encyclopedia of Political Economy
450 entries in an A-Z format on institutions, subjects, concepts and schools of thought. Includes index.
Main Reference HB61 .E554 1999
Routledge Encyclopedia of International Political Economy
3 volumes.
Main Reference HF1359 .R68 2001
Penguin International Dictionary of Finance
Concerned not solely with transnational finance, but also domestic financial matters in the major countries, particularly the United Kingdom and the United States.
Main Reference HG173 .B35 1999
New Palgrave Dictionary of Money and Finance
Essays by many contributors on monetary economics and applications in the business, financial and banking worlds.
Main Reference HG151 .N48 1992
The Fitzroy Dearborn Encyclopedia of Banking and Finance
Definitions of thousands of basic banking, business and financial terms and in-depth entries on historical issues and recent trends.
Main Reference HG151 .F58 1994
The McGraw-Hill encyclopedia of economics
Includes articles with bibliographies written by experts on economic concepts, institutions and historical periods.
Main Reference HB61 .E55
MIT dictionary of modern economics
Contains approximately 2800 entries for terms, organizations and economists.
Main Reference HB61 .P4
Guide to economic indicators
Provides descriptions of economic indicators such as "consumer price index," "gross domestic product" and "stock market price index" developed by the federal government, private sources and international organizations. Includes some references to primary data sources.
Main Reference HC103 .F9
A Financial history of the United States
Main Reference HG181 .M297 2002
The Oxford encyclopedia of economic history
5 volumes.
Main Reference HC15 .O94 2003
The American Economy: a Historical Encyclopedia
2 volumes.
Main Reference HC102 .A66 2003
Note: The Library owns many additional dictionaries or encyclopedias focusing on economics. Some examples are Dictionary of United States economic history (Main Reference HC102 .O57), Companion to contemporary economic thought (Main Reference HB34 .C64), and The Handbook of international financial terms (Main Reference HG3881 .M578).
Research guides provide annotated lists of resources that will be useful for locating information (journal articles, books, statistics, etc.) in a particular subject area. It is useful to consult a research guide when beginning a large research project.
The Social sciences: A cross-disciplinary guide to selected sources
Collection of essays and bibliographies on the social sciences in general as well as on specific fields such as economics.
Main Ref: Z7161 .S648
Encyclopedia of business information sources
A bibliographic guide to more than 33, 000 citations covering subjects of interest to business researchers.
Ref Desk: HF5356 .E539 ed. 15, 2001
Business information sources
Classic guide to business information.
Main Ref: Z7164.C81 D16 1993
Business information: how to find it, how to use it
Ref Desk: HF5356 .L36 2000
LOUIS, the online catalog of the Brandeis Libraries, is the principal means of locating books in the library collections. LOUIS can be useful for this purpose at two levels of your research.
Help locating a book in the library
For books located in other libraries outside of Brandeis, please use:
Worldcat -- a database listing books and other resources held in libraries throughout the country
Libdex -- a meta-index to hundreds of library online catalogs around the world
Indexes to the literature provide a quick way to locate articles in journals.
EconLit (Brandeis users only)
Econlit is the major index to economic literature which includes indexing and abstracts of over 400 journals, over 500 collective volumes per year, plus books, dissertations and working papers. It is available from 1969 to the present for Brandeis users through the world wide web. Indexes some journals not indexed by its printed counterpart, the Index of Economic Articles.
Indexes & Abstracts Area: Z7164 .E2 I4812 (print version)
Social Sciences Abstracts (Brandeis users only)
Covers over 300 scholarly journals in the social sciences, including economics. It is available from 1983 to the present in this online version. Abstracts from January 1994.
Public affairs information service bulletin (PAIS) (Brandeis users only)
PAIS indexes 1400 periodicals, journals, books and reports. The scope of this index, which began in 1915, is the public policy aspects of business, economics, government and other social science topics. The computerized version covers 1972 to the present.
General BusinessFile ASAP )
Access information in hundreds of business magazines with many links to full text.
Business Source Premier
Provides full text and indexing in thousands of journals in business, management, economics, banking, finance, accounting and more. Dates vary according to publication.
Note: The Library owns other important indexes to economics, including Social sciences citation index via Web of Science , International bibliography of economics (Indexes & Abstracts Area: Z7164 .E2 I58), and Index of economic journals (Indexes & Abstracts Area: Z7164 .E2 I5), which provides indexing to economic literature dating back to 1886.
Monthly catalog of the U. S. government printing office (GPO) via FirstSearch (Brandeis users only)
Has the most comprehensive listing of federal publications available. The index provides access to monographic book materials and reports published by the federal government. It does not index articles published in government journals, which are indexed by the standard journal indexes listed in the section above. The computerized version covers 1976 to present, coverage in the print version begins in 1895.
Indexes & Abstracts Area -- Non-Circulating (Print version)
LexisNexis Congressional
Provides detailed access to congressional publications, including hearings, committee prints and Senate and House committee reports. Includes some links to full text
See also the Brandeis University Libraries Guide to Government Documents on the Web
Wall Street Journal (Current 1982 to Present)
Includes text of the Wall Street Journal (1982-Present).
Wall Street Journal Historical Archive
Includes full-text and full-image issues of the Wall Street Journal (1889-1987).
LexisNexis Academic (Brandeis users only)
LexisNexis Academic provides primarily full text access to domestic and foreign newspapers, magazines, company reports, business journals and legal sources.
Thomson Research (formerly Global Access)
Provides business filings and financial information on U.S. and international companies, some dating back to 1968.
ISI Emerging Markets (Internet Securities)
Provides news, company and financial data from global emerging markets in Asia, Latin America and Europe.
Investext Plus
Full-text access to investment research reports. Written by analysts (at investment banks, brokerage houses and consulting firms). Reports follow companies and industries and are provided in PDF format
EIU CountryData
Economist Intelligence Unit database of data, economic indicators and forecasts on 117 countries worldwide across 278 series, 1980 to date.
FedStats: One Stop Shopping For Federal Statistics
A site maintained by the Federal Interagency Council on Statistical Policy that provides access to statistics produced by more than 70 federal agencies. Includes subject, keyword and agency access. Includes the latest edition of Statistical Abstract of the United States under "Fast Facts."
Census Bureau
Provides access to the Census as well as other data produced by the Census Bureau.
STAT-USA (Brandeis users only)
Provides access to a wide variety of economic and trade statistics. Includes the latest edition of the National Trade Data Bank.
LexisNexis Statistical
Accesses statistics from international, federal, state and private sources with some links to full text.
See also the Brandeis University Libraries Guide to Key Statistical Resources
American Economic Association Directory and Survey of Members
Includes short biographies of members of the American Economic Association.
Who's who in economics
Biography Reference: HB76 .W47 1999
Nobel laureates in economic sciences: A biographical dictionary
Biography Reference: HB76 .N63
A biographical dictionary of dissenting economists
Biography Reference HB76 .B5 2000
See also the Brandeis University Libraries guide to Finding Biographical Information
EconLit (Brandeis users only)
EconLit is an excellent source for finding book reviews and review articles in economics, but its indexing practices have changed over time. To find the most comprehensive listing of reviews, review articles and review essays, combine "review in ti" with either an author's name or words from the title of the book or topic (e.g., macroeconomics and review in ti).
Columbia guide to online style
Direct descendent of one of the first guides for citing electronic sources, this remains up to date and very helpful.
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/cup/cgos/idx_basic.html
The Chicago manual of style
The "standard" for formal citation information, writing style and grammatical usage. Excellent indexing leads to specific details of users' needs in citing works for formal papers, dissertations and submissions for publications.
Art Reference, Reference Desk, and Science Ready Reference Z253 .U69 1993
Online! Citation Styles
Provides citation styles for the total range of online information with examples of MLA, APA, Chicago and CBE.
MLA style manual
As the Modern Language Association standard for writers' citations and formats for formal papers, this is a quick and easy informational source to follow and excellent for undergraduate use.
Reference Desk PN147 .G444 1998
Guide to Citing Printed and Electronic Sources
A brief bibliography of citation guides available through the Brandeis University Libraries.
Resources For Economists on the Internet (RFE) This site, which is maintained by Bill Goffe of the University of Southern Mississippi, is generally viewed as the best site offering information for those interested in economics. Includes links to U.S., world and non-U.S. data, economic societies and associations, directories of econ departments, job information, discussion groups and more.
WebEc: World Wide Web Resources in Economics
A University of Helsinki site equal in quality to Goffe's site with a greater international focus. Includes such categories as "international economics," "financial economics," and "regional economics." Includes a "List of Economics Journals."
Inomics
Tailored to the needs of economists with its own search engine for economic information.
Economic Policy Institute
An economics "think tank" that includes "issue guides" such as "social security."
U.S. Economy at a Glance
Six months of key economic data down to the state level.
GPO Access
This Government Printing Office site offers the full text of important economics resources such as the Economic report of the president, Budget of the United States government and Economic indicators.
lFedStats: One Stop Shopping For Federal Statistics
A site maintained by the Federal Interagency Council on Statistical Policy that provides access to statistics produced by more than 70 federal agencies. Includes subject, keyword and agency access. Includes the latest edition of Statistical Abstract of the United States under "Fast Facts."
Census Bureau
Provides access to the Census as well as other data produced by the Census Bureau.
American Economic Association Directory and Survey of Members
Includes short biographies of members of the American Economic Association.
Wachowicz's Web World: Web Sites for Discerning Finance Students
John Wachowicz, Jr., Professor of Finance at the University of Tennessee, has put together this impressive collection of finance-related links for students. Includes many international links.
Global Macroeconomic and Financial Policy (NYU)
