LibGuides: Economics: Statistics & Data

Data or Statistics?

What's the difference? Statistics interpret and summarize data. Data is the raw information from which statistics are created.

Statistics

A statistic answers the question of “how much” or “how many”. Statisical information will be presented in tables, graphs, charts. In an article, statistics may be presented as numbers or percentages. Statistics are the results of data analysis.

A statistical table:

Source: Statistical Abstract of the United States.

Data

Data can be analyzed and interpreted using statistical procedures to answer the questions of “why” or “how.”

Raw data is the direct result of research that was conducted as part of a study or survey.

Data is used to create new information and knowledge, and is considered a primary source.

Raw digital data may be found in datasets (ICPSR or data.gov), or in machine-readable data files (for programs such as Excel, SPSS, SAS). This is a dataset:

Source: data.gov. Distribution and Production of Oil and Gas Wells by State.

More Statistics

Data Releases
Bank assets and liabilities, exchange rates and international data, financial accounts, bank structure data, household finance, business finance, industrial activity, interest rates, money stock and reserve balances. Federal Reserve System.
Economic Indicators
Provides economic information on gross domestic product, income, employment, production, business activity, prices, money, credit, security markets, Federal finance, and international statistics.
Eurostat
European economy and finance, industry, trade, services, international trade statistics. European Commission, EU.
FRED
Download, graph, and track 264,000 US and international time series from 80 sources. Federal Reserve Economic Data.
GDP
Bureau of Economic Analysis.
IMF e-brary
Time series data of major economic aggregates used in economic analysis. Provides country data on exchange rates, international liquidity, international banking, money and banking, interest rates, prices, production, international transactions, government accounts, and national accounts. Covers from 1945 until the latest current month data has been released for (there is usually about a 2 month lag time).
OECD Economic Data
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
Principal Federal Economic Indicators
US Bureau of Economic Analysis.
U.S. Government Budget
UN Comtrade Database
Free access to detailed global trade data. Allows users to find information on any commodity from any country. Includes larger overviews of imports and exports by country and main categories of commodities, such as food or fuels or machinery. It contains annual trade statistics starting from 1962 and monthly trade statistics since 2010.
World DataBank
Access to more than 7,000 indicators from over 20 datasets on world development, including World Development Indicators and Global Development Finance. Dates of coverage begin in 1960 but vary by dataset and country. You can create reports with tables, charts, and maps and export the results in standard formats. 1960 - present. WorldBank.