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Economics Research Guide

Welcome! This guide will point you to research resources for a variety of economics related topics.

Introduction

Click on the tabs in the box below to access listings of sources for data on Halifax/NS, Canada, other countries (World), Trade, Companies and Industries/Markets. For further research assistance, please contact Dr. Joyline Makani.

Data/Statistics Sources

  • MarketLine Advantage To access Halifax city data click on "Browse by database", then click on “City Statistics” to be automatically directed to the City Statistics ‘Home’ page..To quickly find data for your geographical preference, use the geographic (‘Region’, ‘Country’ and ‘City’),  ‘Indicator’ and ‘Year’ filters along the left hand side bar and then click ‘Apply’. Use the ‘Data Download’ dashboard if you want to download the data as an Excel file.
  • Community Profiles (Statistics Canada) Presents information from the 2021 Census of Population for various levels of geography, including provinces and territories, census metropolitan areas, communities and census tracts.
  • Building Permits (Statistics Canada) Includes value of residential and non-residential construction, & number of types of dwellings.
  • CANSIM - CHASS Provided through the University of Toronto. Computing in the Humanities and Social Sciences Facility, (CHASS), CANSIM stands for the Canadian Socio-economic Information Management System. Provides access to current and historical data series collected in a wide variety of subjects by Statistics Canada and other governmental agencies.
  • Canadian Census Analyser Presents very detailed census data for most census geography including Dissemination Areas, for multiple years using the CHASS interface.
  • Statistics Canada Canadian statistics including statistical time series from the CANSIM database.
  • Statistics Canada: Profile of Canadian Communities A statistical profile is presented for all Canadian communities (cities, towns, villages, Indian Reserves and Settlements, etc.) for metropolitan areas and for health regions. Information is provided on education, income and work, families and dwellings.
  • Canadian National Polling data - Ipsos Provided for free by Wilfrid Laurier University, in collaboration with the Ontario Council of University Libraries (OCUL), nationally significant polling data, donated by market research firm Ipsos Canada. The data includes a range of opinion polls and surveys on topics such as national and provincial politics, real estate buying habits, and Canadian heritage.
  • DLI Provides access to Statistics Canada public use microdata files, databases and geographic files to students and faculty at participating institutions in accordance with the Conditions of Use. Browse the collection by clicking on "All products" to find data for a specific survey in the DLI collection, or search in Nesstar's or Beyond 20/20 Web server's interfaces.
  • SDA@CHASS Provides access to: Canadian Public Use Microdata Files (PUMFs), mainly survey data available from the Statistics Canada Data Liberation Initiative (DLI); Canadian aggregate census data files; plus a few other collections of data. Using the Survey Documentation & Analysis (SDA) software developed by the University of California, Berkeley, users can analyze datasets online, download data, or consult relevant documentation.This collection of on-line databases and custom built search and retrieval programs are maintained by Computing in the Humanities and Social Sciences (CHASS) at the University of Toronto.
  • Nesstar(@Statistics Canada DLI) The NESSTAR data portal consists of several catalogues of Statistics Canada data: Statistics Canada Public Use Microdata Files (PUMF), Fichiers de microdonnées à grande diffusion de Statistique Canada (FMGD), Statistics Canada metadata for Master Files (RDC),  and  Métadonnées pour les fichiers maîtres de Statistique Canada (CDR)  Users can only browse or search the survey metadata.
  • Trade Analyser Provides very detailed trade data via the CHASS interface.
  • Canadian Business Patterns Available through DLI, the Canadian Business Patterns data is derived from the Business Register a repository of information from the Statistics Canada survey program and from Revenue Canada's Business Number account files.
  • MarketLine Advantage Click on "Browse by database", then click on “Country Statistics” to be automatically directed to the country statistics ‘Home’ page..To quickly find data for your geographical preference, use the geographic (‘Region’, ‘Country’ and ‘City’),  ‘Indicator’ and ‘Year’ filters along the left hand side bar and then click ‘Apply’. Use the ‘Data Download’ dashboard if you want to download the data as an Excel file.
  • EIU Data (The Economist Intelligence Unit) Data coverage includes: Demographics, EIU Ratings, GDP, Growth And Productivity, Fiscal & Monetary Indicators, Income And Spending, Investment And Saving, Foreign Debt, International Trade, Financial Assets And Liabilities, Foreign Payments And Reserves, Consumer Goods, Travel And Tourism, Energy, Communication And Technology, Automotive and Healthcare
  • The Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) Provides access to comparable, pan-Canadian data on different aspects of the health system. CIHI provides data to qualifying graduate students at no cost through the Graduate Student Data Access Program (GSDAP). Researchers, decision-makers and health managers can request specific data for a fee.
  • UNData (a data access system to UN databases) Access to over 60 million data points covering a wide range of themes including Agriculture, Crime, Education, Employment, Energy, Environment, Health, HIV/AIDS, Human Development, Industry, Information & Communication Technology, National Accounts, Population, Refugees, Tourism, Trade, as well as the Millennium Development Goals indicators.
  • IPUMS: Integrated Public Use Microdata Series
  • ICPSR: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research From the University of Michigan -  maintains and provides access to a vast archive of social science data for research and instruction.

  • openICPSR A service of the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR), openICPSR is a self-publishing repository for social, behavioral, and health sciences research data. 

  • CDP Cities, States, and Regions Open Data Portal Access to climate change and sustainability data from more than 1,200 city, state and regional governments. CDP is a global non-profit charity which runs a global environmental disclosure system.
  • U.N. Statistics Global statistical information compiled and disseminated by the UN Statistics Division
  • World Values Survey An international research program devoted to the scientific and academic study of social, political, economic, religious and cultural values of people in the world.
  • Europa World Provides comparative statistical data by country, and includes thousands of directory contact details with click-through web links and a comprehensive listing of more than 2,000 international organizations.
  • IMF Data : International Financial Statistics (IFS) Access to macroeconomic and financial data. IFS contains approximately 32,000 time series covering more than 200 countries and areas. Also provided is access to a range of time series data on IMF lending, exchange rates and other economic and financial indicators
  • EIU Data Data coverage includes: Demographics, EIU Ratings, GDP, Growth And Productivity, Fiscal & Monetary Indicators, Income And Spending, Investment And Saving, Foreign Debt, International Trade, Financial Assets And Liabilities, Foreign Payments And Reserves, Consumer Goods, Travel And Tourism, Energy, Communication And Technology, Automotive and Healthcare
  • World Resources Institute Data Sets A comprehensive collection of vital statistics for more than 200 countries highlighting the environmental, social, and economic trends that shape our world.
  • LABORSTA (ILO)  An International Labour Office database on labour statistics operated by the ILO Bureau of Statistics, provides data and metadata for over 200 countries or territories.
  • Eurostat Eurostat is the statistical office of the European Union situated in Luxembourg. Its task is to provide the European Union with statistics at European level that enable comparisons between countries and regions.
  • The China General Social Survey (China GSS) An annual or biannual survey of China's urban and rural households designed to gather longitudinal data on social trends and the changing relationship between social structure and quality of life in China.
  • International Data Base (IDB) - US Census Bureau Funded by organizations that sponsor the research of the US Census Bureau's International Programs Center, the IDB provides a variety of demographic indicators for 224 countries and areas of the world. Included are estimates and projections of:  Birth, death, and growth rates, migration rates, infant mortality, and life expectancy, Fertility rates,  Total population and population by age and sex, Population by age and sex from national population censuses, Marital status by age and sex from national population censuses and surveys,  Contraceptive prevalence data from surveys and service statistics
  • OECD Health Data Data includes health status, medical resources, health expenditures, costs and flow, and non-medical determinants of health from 1960 forward. Quick access to data by theme at https://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=UN_DEN
  • Penn World Tables The Penn World Table  provides purchasing power parity and national income accounts converted to international prices for 189 countries for some or all of the years 1950-2007.
  • WISTAT (Women's Indicators and Statistics) CD_ROM (United Nations) Compilation of currently available international statistics on gender, population and social development for 206 countries or areas of the world. It presents 76 tables, mainly covering the period 1970-1997, on nine subject areas: population, education, economic activity, household, marital status and fertility, health and health services, reproductive health and reproductive rights, public affairs and political participation, violence, and national product and expenditure.
  • Pew Research Datasets Survey datasets organized by survey and identified by the name of the survey. Also included with each each dataset are links to the reports released from that data. To download datasets, you’ll need to create a Pew Research Center account
  • Uppsala Conflict Data Program Department of Peace and Conflict Research A systematic data collection useful for systematic studies of the origins of conflict, conflict dynamics and conflict resolution.

  • The General Social Survey​ - US Since 1972 the GSS has collected data on contemporary American society in order to monitor and explain trends in opinions, attitudes and behaviors.

  • Social Progress Index Access to the entire 2020 Social Progress Index data set—including ten years of historical data.

  • World Resources Institute (WRI) WRI, a global research organization that spans more than 50 countries, produces and provides access to data sets, data platforms and data-based tools.

  • Two thousand years of economic statistics: world population, GDP and PPP Presents historical statistics in six sections: (1) Population, (2) GDP Per Capita, (3) GDP, (4) Population Growth Rates, (5) GDP Per Capita Growth Rates, (6) GDP Growth Rates. It gives statistics for two groups of countries within their 2007 borders. First, since year 1950 (for 1950, 1960, 1970, 1980, 1990, 2000, and 2007), it provides statistical data for all countries of the world (232 countries). Second, since the first year AD (for 0001, 1000, 1500, 1600, 1700, 1820, 1870, 1880, 1890, 1900, 1913, 1920, 1929, and 1938), it provides data for a smaller group of countries (133 countries).
  • Alpha Vantage (Open-Data Stock API) [FREE ACADEMIC ACCESS] Cloud-based, programmatic access to Canada, United States, European, and other global statistics (SEC company filings, equity prices and technicals, economic indicators, foreign exchange rates, etc.). Suitable for big data and machine learning in the finance & economic domains. For further resources, please refer to the data API guide with sample scripts in Python. For spreadsheet access (no coding required), please check out the Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets installation guide. 

  • MeasuringWorth The MeasuringWorth Foundation, a not-for-profit corporation provides access to historical data on important economic aggregates, with particular emphasis on nominal (current-price) measures, as well as real (constant-price) measures.

  • Bloomberg (only accessible from dedicated workstations in the Killam Learning Commons and Rowe) Offers real-time trading data, detailed historical data, customizable market monitors, macro-economic data, news, and much more for stocks, bonds,commodities, and other major markets all in one place. Bloomberg User Guide and Getting Started Cheat Sheet with Essential Codes
  • EIKON Datastream (only accessible from a dedicated workstation in the Killam, South Learning Commons.) From Refinitiv, provides access to significant historical time series data including equity, index, commodity, currency, bond, futures, options, and economic data. The Excel add-on allows researchers to download data on multiple securities simultaneously. Also provides access to ASSET4 ESG data which includes 500 metrics on more than 4,700 global companies covering environmental, social, and governance factors.
  • Google Dataset SearchA search engine to help researchers locate online data that is freely available for use.
  • Google Public Data Explorer Combines the power of the Google Chart API with publicly available datasets from organizations like the International Monetary Fund, World Bank, the U.S. Census Bureau, and Statistics Canada.
Access to financial information for 28,000 public Canadian, U.S., and International companies. Financials for 10 years are "as reported" and can be downloaded to spreadsheet software such as Microsoft Excel. Unique attributes such as financial footnotes regarding stock options, pension plans and accounting policy changes are included. Provides access to real-time EDGAR filings - i.e. US company filings.
The Companies/Markets section of Factiva includes corporate profiles, news releases, financial data and competitor information
  • Bloomberg (only accessible from dedicated workstations in the Killam, North Learning Commons and Rowe)

Offers real-time trading data, detailed historical data, customizable market monitors, macro-economic data, news, and much more for stocks, bonds,commodities, and other major markets all in one place. Bloomberg User Guide and Getting Started Cheat Sheet with Essential Codes

  • Datastream (only accessible from a dedicated workstation in the Killam, North Learning Commons.)

From Refinitiv, provides access to significant historical time series data including equity, index, commodity, currency, bond, futures, options, and economic data. The Excel add-on allows researchers to download data on multiple securities simultaneously. Also provides access to ASSET4 ESG data which includes 500 metrics on more than 4,700 global companies covering environmental, social, and governance factors.

  • Eikon

From Refinitiv, provides access to extensive business and financial information for listed companies, including current data of exchange-traded instruments (stocks, warrants, options, futures, indexes, etc.), news, economic data, commodity data, foreign exchange rates and interest rates.  (Access Details: Single-User license. Available only on campus on specific PCs in the Killam North Learning Commons and Rowe).

  • MSCI ESG Research Data (Only accessible from a computer in Room 2030 - iLab.)

Provides access to a suite of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) research and analysis data. It includes data for the top 3000 US companies for the following issue areas and associated indicators; social, community, corporate governance, diversity, employee relations, environment, human rights, product, business involvement, alcohol, gambling, fire arms, military contracting,  nuclear power, and tobacco.

  • NexisUni
    NexisUni is the new interface for Lexis/Nexis Academic. NexisUni provides access to more than 15,000 news, business and legal sources.

Provides an Excel export of an organization's sustainability report data.

 
 
  • MarketLine Advantage Provides in-depth company and industry reports and data associated with the reports. Browse by databases to access market data analytics data, global city statistics and financial deals data, including mergers & acquisitions.
  • Canadian Business Counts and Business Patterns Counts of business establishments by: 9 employment size ranges, including "indeterminate" (as of December 1997); geography groupings: province/territory, census division, census subdivision, census metropolitan area and census. Available through DLI.
  • CANSIM - CHASS Provides access to current and historical data series collected in a wide variety of subjects by Statistics Canada and other governmental agencies. Updated weekly.
  • Trade Data Online (Government of Canada) Provides the ability to generate customize reports on Canada and U.S. trade in goods with over 200 countries. Searchable by product using Harmonized System (HS) codes and by industry using NAICS.
  • EIU  Data (The Economist Intelligence Unit) Data coverage includes: Demographics, EIU Ratings, GDP, Growth And Productivity, Fiscal & Monetary Indicators, Income And Spending, Investment And Saving, Foreign Debt, International Trade, Financial Assets And Liabilities, Foreign Payments And Reserves, Consumer Goods, Travel And Tourism, Energy, Communication And Technology, Automotive and Healthcare
  • NexisUni Provides access to more than 15,000 news, business and legal sources.
  • Bloomberg (only accessible from dedicated workstations in the Killam, North Learning Commons and Rowe) Offers real-time trading data, detailed historical data, customizable market monitors, macro-economic data, news, and much more for stocks, bonds,commodities, and other major markets all in one place. Bloomberg User Guide and Getting Started Cheat Sheet with Essential Codes 
  • Datastream (only accessible from a dedicated workstation in the Killam, North Learning Commons.) From Refinitiv, provides access to significant historical time series data including equity, index, commodity, currency, bond, futures, options, and economic data. The Excel add-on allows researchers to download data on multiple securities simultaneously. Also provides access to ASSET4 ESG data which includes 500 metrics on more than 4,700 global companies covering environmental, social, and governance factors.
  • Eikon From Refinitiv, provides access to extensive business and financial information for listed companies, including current data of exchange-traded instruments (stocks, warrants, options, futures, indexes, etc.), news, economic data, commodity data, foreign exchange rates and interest rates.  (Access Details: Single-User license. Available only on campus on specific PCs in the Killam North Learning Commons and Rowe).

Data Repositories & Centers

  • Harvard Dataverse An open access data repository. Find and cite data across all research fields. 
  • ​​​​​​​Internet Crossroads in the Social Sciences Data Hosted by University of Wisconsin-Madison, this website contains over 1000 annotated links to data-related resources on the Internet. Includes links to economics and finance data sets
  • Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) Based at the University of Michigan, this social science data archive is one of the largest and most established social science data archives in the world. Categories of datasets include economic behavior and attitudes; legislative bodies, social indicators; and much more.

Citing Data and Statistics

It is important to cite not only the literature consulted but also the data or statistics used. The elements of a data/statistics citation include:

  • Author(s)/Creator
  • Title
  • Year of publication: The date when the statistics/dataset was published or released (rather than the collection or coverage date)
  • Publisher: the data center/repository
  • Any applicable identifier (including edition or version)
  • Availability and access: URL or other location information for the data/statistics

The following links provide you with useful guides to citing statistical data. Use these along with the citation style guide recommended by your instructor.

Need Help

For more information or research assistance, please contact Dr. Joyline Makani (Joyline.Makani@dal.ca) and Ms. Julie Marcoux (julie.marcoux@dal.ca)

Subjects: Economics, Sciences