Country Analysis and Rankings | Statistics and Basic Facts | International Trade |
Journal Articles and News | Additional Research Resources
Country Analysis and Rankings
CountryWatch
University of Iowa access only
http://purl.lib.uiowa.edu/countrywat
— Current news stories, as well as substantial geopolitical and economic overviews on 192 countries.
EIU (Economist Intelligence Unit) ViewsWire
University of Iowa access only
— ABI/INFORM Global (http://purl.lib.uiowa.edu/proquest/abi) provides access to the reports. Click on the Publications tab, and then search using "EIU". There are several titles from which to choose; these provide analysis of the business, economic, financial, political, and regulatory environments of countries. Readers can also view EIU RiskWire.
Foreign Direct Investment Confidence Index 
Free online resource
http://www.atkearney.com/main.taf?p=5,3,1,138
— Annual survey of top executives of the world's largest companies regarding the preferred locations for foreign direct investment. Survey is conducted by AT Kearney, a global-management consulting firm. The report is available for free and can be downloaded in PDF format.
Globalization Index
Free online resource
http://www.atkearney.com/main.taf?p=5,4,1,116
— "The 62 countries ranked in the 2005 Globalization Index account for 96 percent of the world's gross domestic product (GDP) and 85 percent of the world's population. Major regions of the world, including developed and developing countries, are covered to provide a comprehensive and comparative view of global integration." Also published by A.T. Kearney, this report is free and can be downloaded in PDF format.
IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook
Book: Reference, fHF 1414 .W67 2003
— Analyzes the ability of nations to provide an environment which sustains the competitiveness of enterprises. Ranks 59 industrialized, emerging, and regional economies using 321 different criteria grouped into four "Competitiveness Factors."
Index of Economic Freedom
Free online resource
http://www.heritage.org/research/features/index/
— The Heritage Foundation's most recent ranking of countries' economic freedom, based on variables in ten categories. Analysis is provided for each country as are scores from previous years.
Political Risk Yearbook
University of Iowa access only
http://purl.lib.uiowa.edu/prs/yearbook
— Political and economic risk assessment of 106 countries as calculated by The PRS Group.
Statistics and Basic Facts
BBC NEWS - Country Profiles
Free online resource
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/country_profiles/default.stm
— Short guides to the history, politics, and economic background of countries. Audio and video clips from the BBC archives are also included.
World Factbook
Free online resource
http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/index.html
— The CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) provides short profiles of every nation in the world. Profiles include economic, social, political, and demographic information. Globastat (http://globastat.com) offers rankings of countries based on the data contained in the Factbook.
International Financial Statistics
University of Iowa access only
http://proxy.lib.uiowa.edu/login?url=http://ifs.apdi.net/imf/ifsbrowser.aspx?branch=RooT
— This database from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) contains approximately 32,000 time series covering more than 200 countries and areas. Data for many countries dates back to 1948. Print versions of the most recent volumes (2003 and 2004) can also be found in the unbound periodicals section of the Business Library. Older volumes are located in the Government Publications Library (HG 3881.I626).
International Statistical Sources
Free online resource
http://www.lib.uiowa.edu/govpubs/intl/intl_stats.html
— Select listing of international statistical resources available in print and online via the University of Iowa Libraries. Some of the sources listed are only accessible to those affiliated with the University of Iowa.
Source OECD
University of Iowa access only
http://purl.lib.uiowa.edu/sourceoecd
— An e-library that provides access to many of the books, periodicals, working papers, statistical databases, and reference materials published by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
WDI Online
University of Iowa access only
http://proxy.lib.uiowa.edu/login?url=http://devdata.worldbank.org/dataonline
— This World Bank database contains statistical data for over 550 development indicators, including social, economic, financial, natural resource, and environmental indicators. Coverage of over 200 countries and 18 country groups from 1960 forward is included.
International Data Base (IDB)
Free online resource
http://www.census.gov/ipc/www/idbnew.html
— This U.S. Census Bureau site presents demographic and socio-economic statistics for 227 countries and areas of the world. The IDB combines data from country sources (especially censuses and surveys) with estimates and projections to provide information dating back from 1950 and as far ahead as 2050.
Statistical Agencies (International)
Free online resource
http://www.census.gov/main/www/stat_int.htm
— The U.S. Census Bureau offers this alphabetical listing of statistical gathering agencies in foreign countries. Includes links to the website of each agency.
International Trade
FITA.org Global Trade Portal
Free online resource
http://fita.org
— FITA, the Federation of Interntional Trade Associations, fosters international trade by strengthening the role of local, regional, and national associations throughout the United States, Mexico, and Canada, that have an international mission. FITA's website serves as a source for B2B leads, news, events, and provides links to 7,000 international trade-related websites.
Interactive Tariff and Trade DataWeb
Free online resource
http://dataweb.usitc.gov
— Provides international trade statistics and U.S. tariff data from 1989 to the present. Users can create customized reports from their own queries, or view prepared reports. From the U.S. International Trade Commission; also incorporates data from the U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. Treasury.
NAFTA Resources
Free online resource
http://www1.lanic.utexas.edu/la/mexico/nafta/index.html
— List of North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) resources assembled at the University of Texas, Austin.
GLOBUS & NTDB (National Trade Data Bank)
University of Iowa access only
http://purl.access.gpo.gov/GPO/LPS1777
— Part of the Stat-USA website; provides international market research, trade opportunities, country analysis, and a trade library.
TradeStats Express
Free online resource
http://tse.export.gov/itahome.aspx?UniqueURL=restartedMe
— Compiled by the U.S. Office of Trade and Economic Analysis, this database allows users to create and view color-coded graphical representations of import/export and trade-balance data.
World Chambers Network (WCN)
Free online resource
http://www.worldchambers.com
— Online network of worldwide chambers of commerce and industry. Provides a searchable database of international chambers of commerce with links to each organization's website.
WTO and GATT Research
Free online resource
http://www.law.nyu.edu/library/wtoguide.html
— This site lists the essential sources for researching the current WTO system and the predecessor system under the 1947 General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. Note: only U.S. materials are included here.
Documents Online (WTO)
Free online resource
http://docsonline.wto.org/gen_home.asp?language=1&_=1
— Over 100,000 searchable and browsable documents of the World Trade Organization, including the legal texts of the WTO agreements dating back to 1995, updated daily.
Journal Articles and News
ABI/INFORM Global
University of Iowa access only
http://purl.lib.uiowa.edu/proquest/abi
— Search 1000 premier worldwide business periodicals for information on advertising, marketing, economics, human resources, finance, taxation, computers, and more. Corporate profile information from Hoover's is also available in this database.
Business Source Premier
University of Iowa access only
http://purl.lib.uiowa.edu/ebsco/bizpremier
— Includes full-text articles from over 3,000 journals in the fields of business, management, economics, finance, banking, accounting — including all issues of the Harvard Business Review This database is on the list of EBSCOhost databases.
Factiva
University of Iowa access only
http://purl.lib.uiowa.edu/factiva
— Try Factiva for business news from nearly 8,000 sources from 118 countries in 22 languages. Same-day, full-text articles and indexing of The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Washington Post, The Globe and Mail, Financial Times, Handelsblatt, Les Echos, South China Morning Post, Australian Financial Review, Sydney Morning Herald, Straits Times, Yomiuri Shimbun, and local newspapers from around the globe. Newswires include Dow Jones, Reuters, The Associated Press, Asia Pulse, and more than 120 other industry, press release, and local newswires. More than 800 sources are available on or before the date of publication.
Lexis Nexis: Academic Search
University of Iowa access only
http://purl.lib.uiowa.edu/lexis/universe
— A full-text database covering over 5,000 publications.
World News Connection
University of Iowa access only
http://proxy.lib.uiowa.edu/login?url=http://wnc.dialog.com
— Used for monitoring non-U.S. media sources. The material in WNC is provided to the National Technical Information Service (NTIS) by the Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS). Analysts from FBIS domestic and overseas bureaus monitor timely and pertinent open-source materials.
Additional Research Resources
globalEDGE (Michigan State University)
http://globaledge.msu.edu/
Foreign Government Resources on the Web (University of Michigan)
http://www.lib.umich.edu/govdocs/foreignnew.html
Portals to the World (Library of Congress)
http://www.loc.gov/rr/international/portals.html
United Nations Research Guide (Mississippi State University)
http://library.msstate.edu/resources/guides/unitednations.asp
Last update: September, 2006.
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