A guide to online economic data

sources and literature

Nowadays there is a plethora of online sources from which we can collect information, either
data or publications. However, not all sources are equally reliable. The following guide
includes a selection of online sources which you can use to collect economic data and find
related literature. These sources mostly involve government departments, research institutes
and international organisations.

UK sources
• Office for National Statistics (ONS): This is the UK’s national statistical institute. It
provides official statistics, which are related to the economy, population, and society at
national, regional, and local levels. The ONS also conducts the census in England and
Wales every 10 years.
• Bank of England: This is the UK’s central bank. It provides a range of monetary and
financial statistics, including data on borrowing, deposits, and interest rates.
• HM Treasury: This is the UK government’s economic and finance ministry and provides
forecasts for the UK economy as well as statistics on public spending and official holdings
of international reserves.
Apart from the HM Treasury, other government departments are:
– Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy.
– Department for Education.
– Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs.
– Department for Transport.
– Department of Health & Social Care.
– Department for International Development.
• Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS): This is the leading independent microeconomic research
institute in the UK focusing on public policy. The IFS’ publications involve a variety of
economic topics, such as inequality, public finances, taxation, and education.
• National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR): This is a prominent
independent research institute with macroeconomic orientation. The NIESR’s
publications include a variety of economic topics, such as economic growth, wages, and
immigration.
• Institute for Social and Economic Research (ISER): This is a leading centre for the
production and analysis of longitudinal studies. It houses a selection of surveys, such as
‘Understanding Society’, a large household longitudinal study and includes numerous
publications that cover a diverse set to economic subjects, such as labour market
outcomes, poverty, and taxation.

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International sources
• Eurostat: This is a leading provider of European statistics that allow comparisons
between EU/euro area countries.
• European Central Bank (ECB): This is the central bank of the 19 European Union
countries which have adopted the euro. As a central bank, its main focus is on monetary
and financial statistics.
• Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis: This is one of the 12 regional Reserve Banks that are
part of United States’ central bank. Its research and data section includes a plethora of
economic data.
• Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD): This is an
international organisation of 37 member countries that works on policies to improve
the economic and social well-being of people. Its data cover many different themes such
as development, education, environment, finance, and society.
• International Labour Organization (ILO): This is an international organisation of 187
member countries and its objective is to set labour standards, develop policies and
devise programmes promoting decent work for all women and men. It is a leading
source of labour statistics.
• International Monetary Fund (IMF): This is an international organisation of 189 countries
whose primary objective is to ensure the stability of the international monetary system.
Its data portal provides access to a large database, but links to alternative data sources
(some stated in this guide too) are also included.
• The World Bank: Similar to IMF, this is an international organisation of 189 member
countries with a primary objective to help developing countries reduce poverty and
become more prosperous. It includes an extensive database of development data.

Alternative sources
• Our World in Data: This is an online publication that includes empirical research and
data that show how living conditions in the world are changing.
• Groningen Growth and Development Centre: This is a research centre focusing on
economic growth and development with related data. Interestingly, the Maddison
Project database includes historical data that go as far back as 1 AD!
• The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER): It is the leading non-profit economic
research organisation in the US. It includes publications on different themes, such as
inequality, productivity, taxation, immigration, and energy.
• Barro-Lee data set: This is a widely used data set on educational attainment by
influential macroeconomists Robert J. Barro and Jong-Wha Lee.
• Gapminder: This is a Swedish foundation that develops teaching resources. Its database
includes several interesting themes, such as communication, health, infrastructure, and
society.