A guide to sources

The following materials will guide you to a wide range of statistical data and other applied materials on the UK, EU and global economy. These materials are presented using the following structure:

I Statistical sources

The following contain important statistical series and, in some cases, articles commenting on those series or on related issues.

The UK economy

Guide to Official Statistics The Stationery Office (TSO), PO Box 29, Norwich NR3 1GN

This is, perhaps, the most useful starting point in any search for statistical sources relating to the UK. It has been published at irregular intervals since 1976 and the latest enlarged edition, compiled by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), was published in 1996. The first chapter of the Guide looks at the organiz­ation of the Government Statistical Office and gives the main contact points and publishers of statistics. The remaining 15 chapters contain one subject area per chapter, e.g. population, education, labour mar­ket, environment, the economy, etc. For each subject, the main datasets are described and the sources of statistics available are provided. Information on any specific topic can be obtained by using the extensive key word index at the back of the Guide.

The other UK statistical sources we consider are presented alphabetically.

Annual Abstract of Statistics (AAS)

The Stationery Office (TSO), PO Box 29, Norwich, NR3 1GN

Annual Abstract of Statistics gives annual figures, wherever possible, for the previous 10 years, in some 400 tables. It presents the major statistics of the various government departments, grouped under 18 section headings.

Annual Survey of Hours and

Earnings (ASHE) The Stationery Office, PO Box 29, Norwich, NR3 1GN

This yearly publication provides detailed and import­ant information relating to the make-up of earnings and hours paid to employees, and its distribution by industry, occupation, region, sex and full/part time status.

Bank of England Quarterly Bulletin

(BEQB) Publications Group, Bank of England, London, EC2R 8AH

The Bulletin is published quarterly, providing detailed statistics on assets and liabilities of the UK monetary sector institutions, though with less detail than in Financial Statistics (see below). Data are also pro­vided for money stock components, government debt, official reserves, foreign exchange rates, comparative interest rates and flow of funds analyses. Each issue contains a number of articles on recent economic and financial developments and on other topics in bank­ing and finance. The Bank of England also publishes Inflation Report every quarter. This contains six sec­tions covering topics such as the outlook for inflation over the next two years, monetary aggregates, finan­cial market data, firm’s pricing behaviour, etc.

Economic and Labour Market Trends

(ELMT) The Stationery Office (TSO), PO Box 29, Norwich, NR3 1GN

This monthly publication is a fusion of two previous publications in 2007, namely, Economic Trends and Labour Market Trends. It contains an up-to-date statistical picture of the UK economy and its labour market together with an insight into how the statis­tics behind the analysis are produced and interpreted. Detailed articles cover such topics as output, employ­ment, finance, wealth distribution, etc. It also has a ‘News Release’ section which provides issues of topical importance.

Households Below Average Income

(HBAI) The Stationery Office (TSO), PO Box 29 Norwich NR3 1GN

This yearly publication from the Department of Work and Pensions provides statistics and com­mentary on the standard of living of various types of households in Great Britain. It provides important information on households at the lower end of the income distribution spectrum.

International Comparisons of Productivity

The Stationery Office (TSO), PO Box 29 Norwich NR3 1GN

This is a twice yearly publication which provides details about UK productivity (output per worker and output per hour) as compared to her main developed country rivals such as Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the US and the G7 average.

Financial Statistics (FS) TheStationery Office (TSO), PO Box 29, Norwich NR3 1GN

Financial Statistics is a monthly publication of the ONS. Data are provided on a wide range of financial topics, for the latest month or quarter, and for at least the previous five years. Financial accounts are pre­sented for various sectors of the economy, central and local government, the public corporations, the monetary sector, other financial institutions, industrial and commercial companies, the personal sector and the overseas sector.

Monthly Digest of Statistics (MDS)

The Stationery Office (TSO), PO Box 29, Norwich NR3 1GN

This is another monthly publication of the ONS. It gives up-to-date statistics on the output of various indus­tries, covering a wide range of industries. Statistics are also presented on the components of National Income and Expenditure, on demographic topics, on the labour market and on a variety of social issues.

Regional Trends (RT) TheStationeryOffice (TSO), PO Box 29, Norwich NR3 1GN

Regional Trends is an annual publication of the ONS, and presents detailed data on the Standard Planning Regions of the UK. Regional Trends includes a wide range of economic, social and demographic indices, highlighting regional disparities in the UK.

Social Trends (ST) TheStationeryOffice (TSO), PO Box 29, Norwich NR3 1GN

Much of the material in Social Trends is of interest to the social scientist in general rather than the eco­nomist in particular. Nevertheless, it gives a detailed breakdown of patterns of household wealth, income and expenditure, together with demographic, housing and social trends.

Transport Statistics: Great Britain

The Stationery Office (TSO), PO Box 29, Norwich NR3 1GN

Published annually by the Department of Transport, this is the main source of statistics on UK Transport. It is divided into nine parts covering Energy and the Environment, Vehicles and Roads, Road Traffic and Freight, Water and Air Transport and Public Transport.

UK Balance of Payments TheStationery Office (TSO), PO Box 29, Norwich NR3 1GN

The so-called Pink Book is the most comprehensive single source available for balance of payments statis­tics. Published annually, it breaks down trade in goods and services, investment income, investment and other capital transactions, official financing and external assets and liabilities, into their various com­ponents. Data for the previous 10 years are presented for purposes of comparison.

UK Economic Accounts TheStationery Office (TSO), PO Box 29, Norwich NR3 1GN

Published quarterly by the ONS, this provides a use­ful update of some of the main components of National Income. It includes the financial accounts of industrial and commercial corporations together with those of central and local government. This publica­tion also provides details of the Balance of Payments on goods, services and investment accounts.

United Kingdom: National Accounts

The Stationery Office (TSO), PO Box 29, Norwich NR3 1GN

Published annually by the ONS, the so-called Blue Book is the single most comprehensive source of data on National Income, output and expenditure, and their components. As well as data for the current calendar year, those of the previous 10 years are also provided. For some tables, data are even presented for 20 calendar years on a consistent basis and, in an annual supplement, as far back as 1946.

United Kingdom 5,000 largest companies ELC International, 5 Mile

Drive, Oxford, OX2 8HT

This publication provides basic details on a large number of individual companies with information including headquarter location, sales, change in sales, profits, profits as a percentage of equity capital, number of employees and sales per employee. It also includes lists of the 250 largest companies as mea­sured by profit, losses and employment.

The UK economy in a European context

European Economy TheStationery

Office (TSO), PO Box 29, Norwich NR3 1GN

European Economy appears three times a year, in March, July and November, and is published by the Commission of the European Union.

Europe's 15,000 Largest Companies (ELC) ELC International, 5 Mile Drive, Oxford OX2 8HT

This publication is regularly updated and contains information on the top companies of Europe. The volume contains data on the sales, profits, total assets, shareholder funds and employment of the larg­est companies in the industrial, trading and services sectors.

Eurostat ONS, Room 1.015, Government Buildings, Cardiff Road, Newport, S. Wales NP10 8XG

Annual publications on the major indices of eco­nomic activity are provided by the Statistical Offices of the members of the European Union under the Eurostat heading.

ECB Statistical Pocket Book Postfach 16

03 19, 60066 Frankfurt am Main, Germany

The Statistics Pocket Book is published each month and provides selected macroeconomic indicators for the individual member states of the European Union, as well as comparisons between the euro area, the United States, and Japan.

ECB Monthly Bulletin Postfach 16 03 19, 60066 Frankfurt am Main, Germany

Monetary policy decisions taken monthly by the Governing Council of the ECB are explained in the Monthly Bulletin. To make the decision more trans­parent, the Monthly Bulletin provides a detailed analysis of the current economic situation and risks to price stability. The editorial summarises the Governing Council’s assessment of present data. The data used by the Governing Council are presented chapters such as: the external environment of the euro area, monetary and financial developments, prices and costs, fiscal developments etc

European Central Bank (ECB) statistics

http://www.ecb.int/stats/html/index.en.html

The statistics section of the ECB provides support to the EU’s monetary policy by providing detailed monetary statistics on each country together with other vital data relating to economic accounts, balance of payments, labour markets and government finances - as well as information on medium-term plans of the EU.

The UK economy in a global context

International Monetary Fund publications The Stationery Office (TSO), PO Box 29, Norwich NR3 1GN

World Economic Outlook Published annually since 1980. This presents and analyses short- and medium­term projections for individual countries, together with a discussion of key policy issues. The industrial countries, the oil-exporting countries and the non-oil developing countries are considered as separate groups.

IMF Economic Review is the official research journal which succeeded the previous IMF Staff Papers in mid-2010. It published high quality academic research related to global economic policies, open economy macroeconomics and international finance and trade.

International Financial Statistics is the standard source of statistics on international and domestic finance. Data include balance of payments, inter­national liquidity, money and banking government accounts, etc.

OECD publications The Stationery Office (TSO), PO Box 29, Norwich NR3 1GN

OECD Economic Surveys Individual country reports for the advanced industrialised economies, published annually in most cases.

OECD Economic Outlook Presents economic trends and prospects in OECD countries. Published twice a year in July and December.

Regional Economic Outlook Reports Published annually, these reports discuss the recent economic developments and prospects for countries in various regions. They also address the factors that have affected economic performance, and discuss the challenges for policy-makers.

The World Bank publications

See ‘World Bank’ below.

United Nations publications TheStationery Office (TSO), PO Box 29, Norwich NR3 1GN

Human Development Report Published annually. These reports provide valuable data and analysis on a wide range of topics involving developing and developed nations. There is an annual up-date of the Human Development Index which seeks to use a wide range of indicators, as well as real national income per head, to measure ‘wellbeing’ across the global economy.

Monthly Bulletin of Statistics Published monthly, this volume contains a section on special statistics compiled for that specific issue and regular informa­tion on other statistical series, including population, wages, prices, production, manpower, etc.

UN Statistical Yearbook Published annually, covering a wide variety of indices of economic activity for developed and developing nations.

World Economic Survey Published every second year, examines fluctuations in the world economy, by individual countries and by groups of countries, for a variety of economic indicators. Problems and prospects are examined for the developed market economies, for centrally planned economies and for the developing countries, together with the outlook for international trade.

World Investment Report This is published yearly by the UN’s trade and development arm (UNCTAD). It focuses on flows of foreign direct investment world­wide and provides rankings of the largest transnational corporations in the world and their importance in world trade. It also has in-depth analysis of selected topics and provides insights into policy-making in this area.

World Statistics Pocketbook A useful pocketbook which provides an easy-to-use international compila­tion of 50 basic economic, social and environmental indicators for 216 countries and areas worldwide. The notes on sources and definitions provide a valu­able guide for further research.

World Bank The World Bank, 1818 H Street, NW, Washington DC, 20433

The World Bank provides a range of data and materials which are extremely useful for analysis of developments throughout the global economy.

World Development Report Published annually, this report provides data on a wide range of development indicators, as well as an analysis of particular issues of relevance to developing economies.

World Trade Organization TheStationery

Office (TSO), PO Box 29, Norwich, NR3 1GN

The World Trade Organization (WTO) is the only global international organisation dealing with the rules of trade between nations. At its heart are the WTO agreements, negotiated and signed by the bulk of the world’s trading nations and ratified in their parliaments. The goal is to help producers of goods and services, exporters, and importers conduct their business.

World Trade Report The World Trade Report is an annual publication that aims to deepen understanding about trends in trade, trade policy issues and the multilateral trading system. Each publication provides a summary of the general trade situation in the world and then has a section on different topics each year. Such topics include globalisation and trade, distributional aspects of trade, trade policy and trade agreements, trade in natural resources, etc.

International Trade Statistics Annual publication including detailed analysis and tables for the latest year (leading traders, trade by sector product and region, LDCs, etc.).

Applied materials

The following are a number of useful sources, readily available to the reader interested in applied economic issues.

Business Strategy Review John Wiley & Sons Limited, 1 Oldlands Way, Bognor Regis, West Sussex, PO22 9SA

Business Strategy Review published four times a year under the aegis of the London Business School analyses and interprets contemporary research on strategic management and the wider business environ­ment, publishing articles which combine disciplines and cross-cultural boundaries. Leading business thinkers from around the world, both academic and managerial, come together in Business Strategy Review to debate current issues and present cutting-edge research and ideas

Business Review Philip Allen Updates, Market Place, Deddington, OX15 0SE

Published four times a year, this journal contains a range of articles that place theory in a real-life busi­ness context and address subjects such as marketing, finance, production operations and human resource development. It also provides guidelines on how to tackle examination questions.

Economics Today Anforme Ltd, Stocksfield Hall, Stocksfield, Northumberland NE43 7TN

This journal is published four times a year and con­tains a main article section relating to economic problems in both micro- and macro-economics. It also has regular features covering various topic areas, e.g. essay and multiple choice questions, making sense of economic data, views from the city, etc.

Economic Review Philip Allan Publishers Ltd, Market Place, Deddington, OX15 0SE

Four issues are published each academic year in September, November, February and April. Economic Review is aimed at introductory students in econom­ics, and relates economic theory to contemporary economic problems. Each issue contains main fea­ture articles, and a teaching section which reviews the various ways of tackling typical examination questions.

Far Eastern Economic Review gpo Box

160, Hong Kong

A weekly publication available from main UK book­sellers. It is a major source of up-to-date information about countries of the ‘Pacific Rim' (such as SE Asia and Australasia) which have become an important part of the world economy. It contains sections which deal with regional issues in the Far East, and presents important articles on business and society in the dif­ferent Far East countries.

Fiscal Facts Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS),

7 Ridgmount Street, London, WC1 7AE

This is the UK's leading independent microeconomic research institute and is an authority on fiscal facts, public finances, tax and welfare policy, education, in­equality and poverty, productivity and innovation, etc. It produces reports, working papers and press releases on these topic areas.

FT Global 500 Financial Times, 1 Southwark Bridge, London SE1 9HL

The annual snapshot of the world's largest com­panies, ranked by market capitalisation, gives an important picture of how corporate fortunes have changed in the past year. Market values are given by country and sector with the largest rises and falls within the year.

Key British Enterprises Dun & Bradstreet, Marlow International, Parkway, Marlow SL7 1AJ

This yearly publication covers some 50 000 large and medium-sized UK companies. It provides financial details (profit, turnover, etc.), operational details (line of business, markets, brand names, etc.) and corpor­ate details (registration no., parent company, etc.).

National Institute Economic Review

2 Dean Trench Street, Smith Square, London SW1P 3HE

Published four times a year. Each issue of the Review contains comments on the economic situation in the UK and on the world economy as a whole. It also contains interesting articles on various aspects of the UK economy. This source is particularly strong in providing comparisons between the UK and her com­petitors in particular areas, e.g. labour costs, produc­tivity and education. There is a statistical appendix which offers updates on a wide range of economic variables relating to production, prices/wages, exter­nal trade, etc.

Oxford Review of Economic Policy

Oxford University Press, Great Clarendon Street, Oxford OX2 6DP

A quarterly publication which includes articles on various topics of current relevance. Some issues con­centrate wholly on one contemporary topic, such as Exchange Rates, Education and Training, Finance, Health Economics, etc.

Regional Studies Routledge, Taylor and Francis Group, Customer Services Dept, 130 Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4SB

Published ten times a year. This is the standard source of articles for those students who are interested in various aspects of UK and world regional and urban issues.

Teaching Business and Economics Economics and Business Education Association, 1a Keymer Road, Hassocks, West Sussex BN6 8AD

This is the official journal of the Economics and Business Education Association and is published in October, February and May. As well as containing articles on various aspects of economics, business and related subjects, it also covers up-to-date teaching methods and reviews new literature.

The Economist 25 St James Street, London SW1A 1HG

This is the internationally known weekly, pub­lished by The Economist Newspapers Ltd. It includes articles on subjects such as World Politics and Current Affairs, together with Business, Finance and Science. It is an invaluable source of national and international business news and also has a useful update on basic economic statistics.

Who Owns Whom? Dun and Bradstreet, 5th Floor, Westminster House, Portland Street, Manchester M1 3HU

This is a yearly publication which includes a mass of essential information about companies and their subsidiaries. It enables readers to find the main sub­sidiaries of UK companies, whether in the UK or abroad. It can also be used to trace the parent firm if the name of the subsidiary is known. This publication is therefore invaluable for unravelling the pattern of ownership and control in UK industry.

I Electronic media

Many series of data and sources of information can now be accessed directly on-line or are available on disk or tape.

ONS Databank ONS Sales Desk, Room 131/4, Office for National Statistics, Government Offices, Great George Street, London SW1P 3AQ

The ONS Databank contains major series such as GDP, PSBR, RPI, Balance of Payments, National Accounts, index of production, etc. Time series data for these items are available on disk or paper.

NOMIS Suite IL-N, Block 1, Mountjoy Research Centre, Stockton Road, Durham DH1 3SW

The National Online Manpower Information Service (NOMIS) is a database of labour statistics run on behalf of the ONS by the University of Durham. It contains a range of official statistics relating to the labour market. Nomis website (http://www.dur. ac.uk/mountjoy.researchcentre/Nomis.htm) gives the address as Suite IL-N, Block 1, Mountjoy Research Centre, Stockton Road, Durham DH1 3SW.

ESRC Data Archivs University of Essex, Colchester, Essex CO4 3SQ

This archive provides data across the full range of the social sciences and humanities and contains informa­tion about most areas of social and economic life including Family Expenditure Surveys, Labour Force Surveys, census data, etc. The Data Archive will locate and obtain research data for those interested.

CD-ROM Many schools, colleges and public libraries now provide CD-ROM access to a range of UK and EU databases and Information Sources. The following items are indicative of what may well be available to you via this resource:

1 ABI/INFORM

Gives 150-word abstracts and indexing to over 800 international academic business, economics and management journals.

2 ANBAR ABSTRACTS

Abstracts and indexes articles covering business, management and IT topics from mainly UK and European journals.

3 FINANCIAL TIMES

Full text of back issues of this newspaper.

4 THE GUARDIAN

Full text of back issues of this newspaper.

5 JUSTIS

This is the official legal database of the European Union. It contains the full text of most of the trea­ties, regulations, directives, preparatory work, case law and parliamentary questions dealt with by the EU.

6 THE TIMES

Full text of back issues of this newspaper.

Internet sources

Use of the Internet as a source of information for economics and business has grown rapidly over the last few years. The usefulness of the material on the

Internet largely depends on whether organizations keep their site up-to-date. The sources of information are growing daily so the list given below provides only a very brief idea of the type and range of web­sites available.

UK sites

British Library Integrated Catalogue

(http://catalogue.bl.uk)

This will provide details of books published in the UK, enabling a search to be made to identify up-to- date books on many topic areas.

Competition Commission

(http://www.Competition-Commission.org.uk)

The Commission is an independent public body which conducts in-depth inquiries into mergers, mar­kets and the regulation of the major regulated indus­tries. This site contains valuable reports on companies referred by the OFT to the Commission.

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) (http://www.bis.gov.uk)

This site contains significant amounts of information on business innovation, productivity, regional eco­nomic development, etc.

Directgov (http://www.direct.gov.uk/)

This site is an important all round source of informa­tion. It will lead to most of the materials published by UK government authorities and public service organisations. It has a valuable A to Z section which allows various government departments and offices to be located, and also has a link to ‘Business Links’ for those interested in resources available to Business.

Economist (http://www.economist.com/)

This includes the current week’s issue of The Eco­nomist, book reviews and surveys. It also provides links to other related sites.

HM Treasury (http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk) This site contains press releases, ministers’ speeches, lists of research papers, together with sections on the

budget, spending reviews, taxation, economic data, economic forecasts, international issues, and enter­prise /productivity information.

Institute for Fiscal Studies

(http://www.ifs.org.uk)

This is an independent research organization that does extensive microeconomic analysis on areas such as the budget, public finance, income inequality, etc.

Office for Budget Responsibility (http://budgetresponsibility.independent.gov.uk/) This Office was created in May 2010 to carry out independent assessments of the public sector balance sheets and the economy as a whole including areas such as the costs of aging, public service pensions, and Private Finance Initiatives (PFI) contracts.

Office of Fair Trading (OFT) (http://oft.gov.uk/)

The OFT’s mission is to make markets work well for consumers. It undertakes investigations into abuse of power by companies in the form a monopoly/cartel type activity. It produces reports which provide a wealth of information for those interested in the mechanism and operations of companies and markets.

ONS National Statistics online

(http://www.statistics.gov.uk)

This is the premier statistical source on the UK economy. The latest updated releases of statistics are posted every day. It is possible to browse by theme, or click on the ‘virtual bookshelf’ to discover the range of statistics available.

Opening up government (http://data.gov.uk) This is a site which was formed in January 2010 under the government’s transparency agenda and is a source of over 5,600 datasets designed to provide information in a more easily accessible and trans­parent form. The data information section is organ­ized by publisher and nation while it also has other sections such as ‘applications’, ‘ideas’ and ‘blog’ sections. It also has a ‘resources’ section where it is possible to access tools to help analyse and share data.

The National Archives

(http://nationalarchives.gov.uk/)

The National Archives is the UK government’s official archive, containing over 1,000 years of history. It was formed between 2003-6 by a fusion of four organiza­tions including the HMSO. It gives detailed guidance to various government departments and the public sector as a whole.

TSO (Stationery Office)

(http://www.tso.co.uk)

This is a privately owned company which publishes for the UK government and Parliament. It maintains a catalogue of all official publications - some 450,000 titles in all. It also distributes publications for inter­national bodies. It has a large range of publications in many fields and can be used as a reference point for searching for economic publications and information.

Newspapers

The following list provides a guide to the main news­papers that provide search facilities, and access can be gained to up-to-date articles. Occasionally, the user is asked to register (free) before using the facility, but some of their services are not free.

■ Financial Times (http://www.ft.com)

■ Guardian Unlimited (http://www.guardian.co.uk)

■ Independent (http://www.independent.co.uk)

■ Timesonline (http://www.timesonline.co.uk)

European/international

British Library: Help for Researchers (http://www.bl.uk/reshelp/findhelpsubject/socsci/ eurunian/eurounion.html)

This website available at the British Library provides a very comprehensive guide for those wanting to access information relating to the EU. It provides useful contact points and on-line directories and gateways. Other sections include bibliographic data­bases and guides; news and current awareness sources; contracts, grants and funding; legislative databases; on-line journals and blogs/social media sections.

EU Information (Europa)

(http://europa.eu)

This is the EU’s central home page. It is the starting point for a search of the main sources of official infor­mation on the EU. It leads to an enormous range of sources, including the publications of the various Directors General (DGs) and Eurostat.

European Central Bank (ECB)

(http://www.ecb.int/)

A significant amount of information on all aspects of European finance.

European Competition Policy

(http://ec.europa.eu/comm/competition/index_en.html) Significant detail on aspects of anti-trust, mergers, state aid and liberalization issues in the EU.

International Monetary Fund (IMF)

(http://www.imf.org)

This site provides a guide to the material available with the IMF on a wide range of economic issues.

The World Bank (http://www.worldbank.org/) See ‘World Bank’ below.

United Nations (http://www.un.org)

This site provides details of the publications and activities of the United Nations, e.g. information about its yearly Trade and Development Report.

United States (US)

There are a large number of sites that give informa­tion about the US economy and business. Five useful ones are:

■ Economic Statistics (http://www.whitehouse.gov/ administration/eop/cea/economic-indicators)

This is a central source on current economic data and reports from various US state agencies, e.g. The Economic Report of the President. There is also a resources section on the White House website which is useful.

■ Statistical Abstract of the United States (http:// www.census.gov/compendia/statab/)

This publication is an authoritative and compre­hensive summary of statistics on the social, political and economic organization of the United States.

■ FirstGov (http://www.usa.gov)

This site has 51 million pages with information about all aspects of US life and business. It has a ‘reference centre’ which contains data and law sections.

■ Fedstats (http://www.fedstats.gov/)

This gateway contains statistics from over 100 US Federal Agencies.

■ CIA World Factbook (https://www.cia.gov/ library/publications/the-world-factbook/)

The factbook provides information on the history, geography, economy, government and transnational issues for 267 world entities.

World Bank (http://www.worldbank.org/)

An invaluable source for information, research and data on economic development of all kinds.

World Trade Organization (WTO)

(http://www.wto.org)

This site is dedicated to the publications of the WTO in the area of trade and trade policy.