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William Madison Randall Library

Class Guide: IMB 300 Resources for International Business


Primary Contact:
Beth Kaylor
Email:
kaylorj@uncw.edu
Phone:
910-962-4232
IM Chat Name:
AIM: bethk379
How to Cite Sources
Library Information:
Library Information

Create a Library PIN

Access Randall Library databases from your home computer

Ask a Libraian - contact the Reference Desk by phone, email or chat

Library Resource Guides:

Country Information Resources

International Business Information

Searching Sources by SIC/NAICS Codes

Statistics Sources

Useful Print Resources include:

Europa World YearBook-- UNCW Reference JN1 .E85
Exporter's Encyclopedia -- UNCW Reference HF3011 .E9
CultureGrams -- UNCW Reference GT150 .C85
The Statesman's Yearbook -- UNCW Reference JA51 .S7
World Trade Almanac -- UNCW Reference HF1379 .W67

Databases:

ABI Inform -- U.S. and international articles on business and management

Business Source Premier -- Includes detailed country reports as well as the abilaity to search a wide range of business sources.

Lexis-Nexis Academic -- Covers news sources from other countires.

Mergent Online -- International company information

Public Affairs Information Services (PAIS) International -- PAIS International includes publications from over 120 countries throughout the world. In addition to English, some of the indexed materials are published in French, German, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish.

WDI (World Development Indicators) Online (choose Institutional Subscribers) -- provides direct access to more than 600 development indicators, with time series for 208 countries and 18 country groups from 1960 to 2005, where data are available.

STAT-USA is the Internet source for business and economic information produced by the federal government. One user at a time in the library. Password required, available at the Reference Desk.

There are two main collections:
State of the Nation includes U.S. economic data and release calendars, exchange rates, industrial data, and consumer credit reports.
GLOBUS & NTDB includes trade opportunity leads, international industry analysis, market analysis, imports,
exports and guides for U.S. companies doing business in different countries.

General Market Analysis

Country Information Resources

Export.gov -- Provides access to a wide variety of country, market and industry information resources.

U.S. Commercial Service -- BuyUSA

International Trade Administration -- Trade Information Center - Provides country information, an tariff and tax information, export resources and industry information.

International Trade Administration -- Contains export prospects and market information for various countries and regions.

Background Notes -- Country reports from the U.S. State Department.

Economist Country Briefings -- Includes profiles for 60 countries including economic forecasts and political climates.

Country Profiles from BBC News -- Full profiles provide an instant guide to history, politics and economic background of countries and territories, and background on key institutions.

Google Uncle Sam -- Use Google Uncle Sam to locate country information from U.S. Government sources.

VIBES: Virtual International Business and Economic Sources from UNC Charlotte provides over 1,600 links to Internet sources of international business and economic information that are in English and available free of charge.

Search country bank pages = www.google.com (ex. Bank of Kenya)

Handbook of International Economic Statistics http://www.cia.gov/cia/di/products/hies/

US Trade Balances by Country http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/balance/index.html

International Business Ettiquette and Manners

 
 
 

Statistics Sources

U.S. Department of Labor -- This site provides links to principle U.S. federal statistical agencies as well as the statistical agencies of most foreign countries. (A word of caution: detailed data on some country web sites is available only in the language native to that country).

U.S. Census Bureau -- Foreign Trade Statistics

NationMaster.com -- NationMaster is a massive central data source and provides a way to graphically compare nations. NationMaster compiles data from such sources as the CIA World Factbook, UN, and OECD. This web site allows the user to generate maps and graphs on all kinds of statistics. Note the countries tab but main page is also interesting.

World Trade Organization -- The Statistics Database allows access to the most up-to-date WTO trade statistics. Within this database, the Trade Profiles section provides predefined information on the trade situation of selected economies. The Time Series section allows an interactive data retrieval of trade statistics.

Countries of the World -- Each country profile provides information on topics such as geography, history, government, economy, ethnicity/race, and literacy. A map of each country is also provided.

Library Spot – Countries -- Provides links to the CIA World Fact Book online, Country Studies (Library of Congress), Ecomomy.com (World Bank), Map Machine (National Geographic), and much more.

International Trade

BUBL Link Catalog of Internet Resources on International Commerce
Links to academic trade centers, chambers of commerce, international trade resources, trade and environment, fair trade organizations and information.
http://bubl.ac.uk/link/linkbrowse.cfm?menuid=5604

Federation of International Trade Associations
See their "Really Useful Sites for International Trade Professionals" along with resources for country, legal, language, international markets and business directories.
http://www.fita.org/

United Nations/ECE. Trends in Europe and North America
Thumbnail statistical profiles of 55 countries.
http://www.unece.org/stats/trend/trend_h.htm

U.S. International Trade Commission Dataweb
Interactive, direct access to trade data, including tariff information, import/export data.
http://dataweb.usitc.gov/

Trade Agreements, Trade Barriers and more:

Trade Barriers - Examples of trade barriers
Trade Compliance Center
: Search trade agreements.

Resources for Economic, Customer and Industry Information

Country Commercial Guides: Annual publications prepared by U.S. Embassies with assistance from a variety of government agencies. The reports provide an expansive look at countries' commercial environments, using economic, political and market analysis. They are available via the internet from the U.S. State department at http://www.state.gov/www/about_state/business/com_guides and available through Export.gov at http://www.usatrade.gov/website/ccg.nsf . They are also available through Stat-USA.

Country Studies: The Country Studies collection presents descriptions and analysis of the "historical setting and the social, economic, political, and national security systems and institutions of counties throughout the world and examines the interrelationships of those systems and the ways they are shaped by cultural factors." The original series was designed to provide information on lesser known areas of the world. As a result the series is not all-inclusive. Over 100 countries are covered but Canada, France, the United Kingdom, other Western nations, and a number of African nations are not covered.

World Fact Book: The World Fact Book is published by the Central Intelligence Agency from information gathered by the organization. It provides a wealth of demographic, social, and economic information on each country. Use the field Listing link at the top of the page to help you locate what information is available in what section of the report. A print copy is located in the Reference Collection under the call number Ref G122.U56

Type of Information Country Commercial Guides Country Studies/Area Handbooks World Fact Book
Demographics
Population Size Y Y Y
Age N Y Y
Literacy/Education N Y Y
Income Distribution N Y Y (not by %)
Economics
Inflation Y N Y
GDP per capita Y Some Y
GDP real growth Y Y Y
Geographic Data
Climate N Y Y
Political Divisions N Y Y
Product Usage Data
Social Class/Family N Some N
Ethnicity Some Y Y
Language Y Y Y
Religion Y Y Y
Industry/Market Information
Competitive Analysis N N N
Distribution Channels Y N N
Pricing Y N N
Marketing Promotion Y N N
Communications Some Y Y
Trade Data on Imports Y N Y
Transportation Some Y Y
Adapted from: Tims, Betty J. and Vaughan C. Judd. "International Marketing and Electronic Government Sources: A Collaborative Research Strategy Workshop." Reference Services Review 29 (2): Summer 2001, pp.157-164.

HOW TO CITE SOURCES



Last Update: May 19, 2008