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Resources

Palley Economics Seminars is proud to give you our list of free and inexpensive resources that are useful to anyone interested in the study of economics. Make sure to bookmark this page so you can always have these valuable tools at your fingertips.

Our seminars often make use of many of the websites listed here. Students learn which sites are relevant to their jobs and are taught how to accurately apply the information they will find. Click here to learn about the seminars we offer.

The analysis of historical economic data facilitates the understanding of important historical economic events and the analysis of how changing economic trends affect businesses and industry. Excellent resources for historical economic data include:

  1. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. This website includes research, historical data, and the Monetary Policy Report to the Congress. For historical economic data, click on Economic Research and Data. Select Statistics: Releases and Historical Data. You will find historical data related to interest rates, the money supply, foreign exchange rate, and other data. The address is: http://www.federalreserve.gov/
  2. At the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis you can find economic research and FRED®, a database of economic and financial statistics and historical data. Categories of data includes, among others, business/fiscal, Consumer Price Index (CPI), employment and population, Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and components, interest rates, and U.S. trade and international transactions. The address is: http://research.stlouisfed.org/
  3. United States Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis is an excellent resource for historical economic data. This website is also an excellent resource as you search for national, international, regional, and industry level data. See GDP by Industry for industry specific data. Also click on Gross Domestic Product and see Supplemental Estimates for underlying detail tables where you will find detailed, industry or product-type data about inventories and sales, personal consumption expenditures, gross private domestic investment, and motor vehicle output. The address is http://bea.gov/
  4. The United States Department of Commerce provides other very good sources of data. See Economics Indicators and Economics Links. The website is https://www.esa.doc.gov/index.cfm. You can also find trade and economic analyses, and other reports at http://www.ita.doc.gov/td/industry/otea/
  5. The Federal Aviation Administration is an excellent source of data. There are also aviation forecasts on this site. See http://www.faa.gov/
  6. The United States Census Bureau is a very good resource for population and demographic data. See http://www.census.gov/
  7. The Bureau of Labor Statistics is a good source of historical data related to unemployment, inflation, and specific commodities prices at both the consumer level (CPI) and that faced by the producer (PPI). You will also find historical data and other information related to consumer spending, employment, the unemployment rate, wages, earnings, benefits, productivity, more specific industry level data, and state as well as local area economic data. See http://stats.bls.gov/
  8. The Office of Management and Budget includes budget and the statistical tables of the Economic Report of the President are found at the website for the White House: http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/
  9. You may want to find a report called Economic Indicators. This report contains historical economic data and is published by the U.S. Congress: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/indicators/browse.html
  10. The FedStats web site is maintained by the Federal Interagency Council on Statistical Policy. It is a very good resource for obtainable state and local data. You will also find links to numerous web sites for federal statistical agencies. The link is: http://www.fedstats.gov/
  11. The Regional Economic Conditions site is produced by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). You will find employment, income, housing, and real estate data for states, counties, and metropolitan areas. See: http://www.econdata.net/
  12. National Association of Homebuilders includes data and information related to the national economy, the local and national homebuilding industry, and the prices and availability of building materials: http://www.nahb.com/

Once an analyst has completed an analysis of historical economic data and understands the impact of historical economic events on their organization, then the analysis of how future changes in economic trends affect businesses and industries becomes easier. Or, at the very least it is much easier to ask an economist the right questions or understand the implications of reports that are produced by economists. There are excellent resources available to you when you want to find economic forecasts that are industry specific or focus on selected economic indicators. Some of these resources available to professionals interested in finding reputable forecasts include:

  1. See the Congressional Budget Office for current budget and economic forecasts, publications, and other budget and economics information. Go to the following website: http://www.cbo.gov/
  2. Mortgage Bankers Association of America includes economic and mortgage finance forecasts, reports and publications, and other information relevant to real estate professionals: http://www.mbaa.org/
  3. The Conference Board includes economic research, the Consumer Confidence Index, and economic forecasts: http://www.conference-board.org/
  4. National Association of Homebuilders includes forecasts related to housing and economic data, and data and information related to the homebuilding industry and building materials: http://www.nahb.org/
  5. The National Association of Realtors® makes available to realtors and the public information of interest related to the housing market, other information, and forecasts as well. Additional information is available to members. The address is: http://www.realtor.org/
  6. The Financial Forecast Center is a source for economic forecasts, historical data, and other related information. The costs associated with acquiring this information are relatively low. The address is: http://www.forecasts.org/index.htm
  7. Global Insight can be a good source for timely analysis, forecasts, and discussions. One note, these resources are not available free. The address is: http://www.globalinsight.com/
  8. RSQE Forecasts is another source for economic forecasts and other economics information: http://www.umich.edu/~rsqe/pages/Forecasts.html
  9. National Association for Business Economics (NABE) provides reports, analyses, and economic data and forecasts to economics professional who are members of NABE: http://www.nabe.com/

The following web sites may be interesting to those of you who are want to learn more about the economies of other countries, including those in the European Union (EU):

  1. The European Union On-Line: http://europa.eu.int/
  2. The European Central Bank includes information for students, and research as well: http://www.ecb.int/ecb/html/index.en.html
  3. The World Bank Group includes information for students, researchers, and investors: http://www.worldbank.org/
  4. The International Monetary Fund also has very good information for students: http://www.imf.org/
  5. Institute for International Economics: http://www.iie.com/

These sites are useful to people who are interested in trends and forecasts related to the prices of securities and commodities:

  1. The New York Mercantile Exchange is a source for futures and options prices for commodities: http://www.nymex.com/index.aspx
  2. The Chicago Board of Trade is another source for commodities prices: http://www.cbot.com/
  3. New York Stock Exchange: http://www.nyse.com/
  4. NASDAQ: http://www.nasdaq.com/
  5. Standard & Poors: http://www2.standardandpoors.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=sp/Page/HomePg&r=1&l=EN
  6. Federation of Tax Administrators (State tax rates and structures): http://www.taxadmin.org/
  7. FutureSource.com is a source for data related to materials and commodities: http://www.futuresource.com/index.jsp

There are groups who are dedicated to social and political policy research, including economic policy and research. These firms will make available to readers articles and reports focused on a diverse group of topics including economics and economic data, government and social policies. One note, in some cases the analysis you read may appear to be guided by a particular political sensibility, but that may lead to the opportunity to read different views that can be evaluated. Also, some of the material can be costly. Some interesting web sites in this category to visit include:

  1. Economic Policy Institute: http://www.epinet.org/
  2. Hoover Institution: http://www.hoover.org/
  3. Center for Economic and Policy Research: http://www.cepr.net/
  4. The Brookings Institution: http://www.brook.edu/default.htm
  5. The Heritage Foundation: http://www.heritage.org/
  6. RGE Monitor, A Roubini Global Economics Service: http://www.rgemonitor.com/

There are many web sites that are dedicated to adding to the public’s general knowledge of economics, forecasting, economic research and forecasts, economics resources on the Internet, and the history of economic thought. Some very good examples of these include:

  1. Economy.com: http://www.economy.com/default.asp
  2. Economagic.com: Economic Time Series Page: http://www.economagic.com/
  3. The History of Economic Thought Website: http://homepage.newschool.edu/het/
  4. Encyclopedia of Law and Economics: http://users.ugent.be/~gdegeest/