Selected data sources for international trade and finance statistics - Focus on Statistics - Directory

Business Economics, April, 2002 by Ralph H. Kozlow

www.ers.usda.gov

12. Energy Information Administration (part of the U.S. Department of Energy) provides annual and monthly data on U.S. and world trade in fossil fuels and electricity. Also, it publishes the "International Energy Outlook," which contains information on trends in energy production and consumption. Information by individual foreign country may be obtained by going to its home page and clicking on "geography" and then on "international."

www.eia.doe.gov

13. U.S. Agency for International Development (AID) is an independent federal agency that provides economic assistance to foreign countries under general policy guidance from the Secretary of State. Much of the statistical data on U.S. government grants to foreign countries is provided to BEA by AID.

www.usaid.gov

14. U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS, part of the Department of Justice) provides monthly data on the number of travelers entering or leaving the United States (used by BEA in developing estimates of travel receipts and expenditures).

www.ins.usdoj.gov

15. U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) publishes the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States, plus regular summaries and analyses of U.S. Department of Commerce trade statistics.

www.usitc.gov

16. Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) provides on-going information on international trade agreements and foreign barriers to U.S. exports.

www.ustr.gav

17. FedStats (maintained by the Office of Management and Budget) has links to statistics from over one hundred U.S. federal agencies, including those producing international trade and financial data.

www.fedstats.gov

18. Stat-USA is a service of the Department of Commerce that releases business, economic, and trade data on its Web site for a subscription fee. (Is not a data collector.) It maintains the National Trade Data Bank (NTDB).

www.stat-usa.gov

International Organizations

19. Bank for International Settlements (BIS) is an international organization that assists central banks in managing their reserves (including as a counterparty for transactions) and issues studies resulting from monetary and economic research.

www.bis.org

20. International Monetary Fund (IMF) is the lead agency in establishing statistical standards for balance of payments compilation. (It issued the fifth edition of the Balance of Payments Manual in 1993, and is leading development of the sixth edition, targeted for release in 2007.) It produces the monthly statistical publication, International Financial Statistics, which presents country-level economic data. Its Web site contains links to national data dissemination bulletin boards, with more data and more countries often being added. Much of the recent work is a result of the IMF's issuance of Special Data Dissemination Standards, which were designed to improve the transparency and quality of national economic data.

dsbb.imf.org

21. Organisation for Economic Co operation and Development (OECD) publishes international data and studies, including data on purchasing power parity and detailed country data (particularly on its thirty member countries). Also, it contributes to establishing international statistical standards. It publishes detailed member-country data on trade in services and on direct investment. OECD is working on a manual on globalization indicators that should help to standardize information on the operations of multinational companies.