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Research Guides

International Business

ILO Stat

The logo for the International Labour Organization. The logo includes the letters, ILO in all capitals. The letters are surround by a gear shape and a wreath shape with a ribbon.

Accessibility

Coverage

  • All countries
  • circa 1967-present

Notable Content

  • Earnings, hours, (un)employment, injuries, strikes, cost of labor

Search Tips

  • Country Profiles provide a basic overview of labor statistics by country 

Unique Features

  • Includes data on the Informal Sector
  • Users can bookmark tables

Weaknesses

  • Not all countries collect/report employment data the same way

Download Format

  • Excel

IMF Data

The logo for the International Monetary Fund. The login includes two planets on a shield with an olive branch beneath them and the words "International Monetary Fund" around the images.

Accessibility

Coverage

  • All countries
  • 1900-present

Notable Content

  • Monetary statistics, exchange rates, CPI, investment stasistics, balance of payments 

Search Tips

  • Browse countries, indicators or predefined reports

Unique Features

  • Depth and breadth of financial, monetary and investment statistics unavailable elsewhere
  • Some data is available monthly, quarterly, and annually 

Weaknesses

  • Tables load slowly
  • Requires a bit of a learning curve, especially for users without finance or economics background

Download Formats

  • Excel, PDF, RTF, EMF, PPT, HTML, MHT

OECD Data Explorer

OECD logo. The logo includes an image of the planet earth with two arrow-like shapes in green and gray. Next two the images is the text, OECD in large letters. Underneath the text and images are the words, "Better policies for better lives" in all capital letters.

Accessibility

Coverage

  • Member countries, or member countries and their trade partners, or all countries; it depends 
  • 1960-present

Notable Content

  • Statistics and data on a variety of economic and development topics including finance, industry, trade, globalisation

Search Tips

  • GSU users access via OECD iLibrary then click Statistics → OECD.Stat → DATA
  • Browse topics by theme or search 

Unique Features 

  • Industry structural analysis database (STAN) 
  • Bilateral trade data

Weaknesses

  • Mix of free and subscription content is confusing
  • Non-member country data not always included

Download Formats

  • Excel, CSV, PC-Axis, Developer API, XML

Passport (Euromonitor)

Accessibility 

Coverage

  • Covers consumer markets for 27 industries in most countries
  • 1997- present
  • Forecasts through 2020

Notable Content

  • Market sizes, company shares, brand shares, distribution data

Search Tips

  • Use the Search Full Tree tool to select Categories and Topics (i.e. industries) and geographies
  • Use the Dashboard to create charts, graphs and maps

Unique Features

  • Comprehensive global company, brand and market data

Weaknesses

  • Only covers 27 industries
  • Data available for most, not all countries; hard to predict what's covered

Download Formats

  • Excel, PDF

UN Comtrade Database

The logo for the UN Comtrade Database includes a circle with a stack of books inside it. One side of the circle is white with a blue border and the other side is blue. The words, "UN Comtrade Database" appear next to the graphic.

Accessibility

Coverage

  • All Countries
  • 1962-present

Notable Content

  • Disaggregated trade statistics
  • UN trade database of record
  • Imports, exports, re-imports, re-exports

Search Tips

  • Click the Get Data button to get to the search interface 
  • Users can download up to 50,000 records with the free version

Unique Features

  • Commodity level bilateral trade data
  • Easy to use

Weaknesses

  • One trick pony

Download Formats

  • CSV

World Bank Data

The logo for the "World Bank". The logo includes an image of a sphere with the words, "The World Bank" next to it.

Accessibility

Coverage

  • All countries
  • 1960-present

Notable Content

  • The World Bank's primary data set is World Development Indicators (WDI)
  • Many other economic topics, including trade, are also covered
  • The data is compiled from officially recognized international sources

Search Tips

  • Browsing by indicators gives you a good sense of what's included in the database
  • Build a comprehensive search step-by-step
  • Some indicators link to external World Bank data sources; use these to explore a topic further

Unique Features

  • The Data Catalog lists all available data from the World Bank and allows for bulk downloads

Weaknesses

  • It can be hard to navigate because there are so many choices

Download Formats

  • Excel, XML, CSV