Welcome to the Research Guide for Economics
The library catalog searches a variety of resources by title, author, keyword, or phrase linking you to ebooks, print books in the on-campus collection, and journal articles from both general and subject specific databases. The more specific your search terms, the more specific the results will be. For our Distance Learning (DL) students, excerpts from print items held in the on campus library can be provided on request.
If you are accessing electronic resources from off-campus and are required to log in, use your student portal user name and password to gain access. If you have difficulty with the website or accessing any resources, please let library staff know by email at askalibrarian@phc.edu or library@phc.edu.
Professional library assistance is available on campus, by phone at 540-441-8400, or by email at askalibrarian@phc.edu.
Government Resources
Activities of the European Union – Economic and Monetary Affairs (EUROPA)- The European Union’s website provides information on legislation, statistics and important developments on the international economy.
International Monetary Fund Home Page (IMF) accesses articles, news updates and statistics related to international economics and includes an educational section for students and teachers.
Census Bureau Demographic information of all kinds, including income and poverty statistics and data on industrial sectors
U.S. Department of the Treasury Official figures related to national debt and spending
U.S. Federal Reserve Macro monetary policy information and education (especially through the Reserve Banks websites).
Bureau of Economic Analysis Keepers of official GDP and trade statistics
Bureau of Labor Statistics Official unemployment and inflation figures
World Bank provides access to economic research and data sets by country and region.
Think Tanks, Research, and Public Policy
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities reviews the government's budget decisions. The Center has a strong progressive perspective that is pro-distribution. You will need to double check their assumptions and numbers.
Economic Policy Institute covers many areas of research focusing on "fairness." It promotes anti-trade, highly regulated markets.
National Bureau of Economic Research Highly respected, non-partisan, but influenced by close relationship with government. Economic research on variety of topics, among them study of national recession and recovery.
American Enterprise Institute Solid economic and cultural research. Large board of scholars. Good outreach. Conservative / free-market.
Competitive Enterprise Institute Excellent work on issues related to commerce and environment. Free-market / libertarian.
Tax Foundation Excellent analysis of tax policy/consequences. Federal/state/local. Several good data sets. Low-tax / free-market.
Heritage Wide variety of economic topics. Publishes the Index of Economic Freedom. Conservative.
Fraser Institute Very excellent work on wide variety of topics. Publishes the Economic Freedom of the World Report. Free market. Canadian.
CATO Wide variety of research topics. Quite libertarian, heavily free market, almost isolationist. Double check their studies from other assumptions.
Buckeye Institute Good state-level think tank. Well respected.
Mackinac Flagship state-level think tank. Excellent work on state spending/taxes and education policy.
Pacific Research Institute Enviro-economics and other research. Focus on west coast, but national content. Responsible government perspective.
Texas Public Policy Foundation Excellent state-level economic policy.
Mercatus University-based economic research and policy organization. Focus on regulation and economic growth.
Center for American Progress Broad policy think-tank. Some economic policy. Pro-regulation, pro-government, pro-controlled markets, anti-individual. Double check their studies and numbers
Brookings Institute Well respected. Solid research. Centrist perspective. Pro-market, but with government control/oversight. Pro-government.
Christianity, Morality, Ethics and Economics
The Institute for Faith, Work, and Economics Explores the confluence of economics, Christianity, and business with a focus on the moral case for free markets.
Acton Institute Catholic, general Christian perspective on economic policy. Limited-government, pro-market.
AEI Values and Capitalism Excellent source for materials and discussion on morality and markets. Conservative / free-market.
Economic Scholarship Education
Resources for Economists (RFE) provides a list of more than 2,000 resources on economics maintained by the American Economic Association.
Ludwig von Mises Institute Rothbardian take on the Austrian school of economics.
Foundation for Economic Education One of the nation’s foremost economic education organizations. Excellent material. Free-market.
Tax Analysts Lots of neat history of taxation in the United States. Especially attend to the “Tax History Museum."
Learn Liberty.org Excellent collection of educational videos on economic concepts.
Institute for Humane Studies Variety of resources for students studying free-market economics.
Specific Resources
Index of Economic Freedom- very visual and appealing. Published by Heritage, this site offers good scholarship that is often hidden in footnotes and appendices.
Economic Freedom of the World from Frazier Institute and CATO Institute. Highly scholarly with many resources. Used by many economists.
Debt Clock Numbers about U.S. debt, spending, revenue, population with brief explanation of sources
U.S. Government Spending Excellent source of information on spending by all levels of government. Tons of information if you manipulate the tables and charts.
U.S. Government Revenue Excellent source of information on revenue by all levels of government. Tons of information if you manipulate the tables and charts.
World Trade Organization (WTO) has the goal of helping producers of goods and services conduct their business by creating stability and predictability within markets.
LexisNexis allows users to search the dossiers and SEC filings of public companies, as well as access journal and newspaper articles that contain the latest in economic data.
ProQuest and Academic Search Premier provide access to a number of scholarly works that may be helpful in your research.
21st Century Economics: A Reference Handbook, vol. 1, 2 (2010) edited by Rhona C. Free is available in the PHC collection at Ref HB 171 .A19 2010.
Concise encyclopedia of economics, by David R Henderson
Dictionary of economics, edited by Graham Bannock, R.E. Baxter, and Evan Davis, is available in the PHC collection at Ref HB 61 .B33 1998.
Dictionary of economics by John Black, is available in the PHC collection at Ref HB 61 .B554 1997.
Everyman’s dictionary of economics by Arthur Seldon and F.G. Pennance and edited with a new introduction by Colin Robinson is available in the PHC collection at Ref HB61 .S39 2005.
You can search the catalog using any of the following terms as "Subject" for more specific results:
Budget
Capitalism
Commerce
Economic policy
Economics
Free enterprise
Government spending policy
Taxation
United States--Economic conditions
You can search for articles by title, author, or keyword in the catalog, or you can browse a specific catalog from the list below by following the link, Periodical Listing.
American Economic Review (Print 2000-Present, Online 3/1/1911-2005)
American Economic Journal with individual publications in applied economics, economic policy, macroeconomics, and microeconomics (Print and online 10/1/2009 - Present)
American Economist (Online 10/1/1987-Present)
Business Week (Print 2000-Present, Online 1975-Present)
Economic Theory (Online 2002-1 year ago)
Economist (Print 2001-Present, Online 1975-Present)
Forbes (Print 2000-Present, Online 01/06/1992-01/30/2006)
International Economy (Online 1999-Present)
Journal of Economic Perspectives (Print 2000-Present, Online 1987-10/1/2005)
Journal of Law and Commerce (Online 1993-Present)
Quarterly Journal of Economics (Print 2001-Present, Online 1886-Present)
Southern Economic Journal (Online 1988-Present)
Search by subject: Once you have located one item in the catalog, you may click on the subject term within the record to find other items on the same, or similar, subjects.
Once you locate an appropriate resource, potential valuable resources may be listed in the item's bibliography.
If you are unable to locate an item in the PHC online or on-campus collection, you may request resources through Interlibrary loan (ILL). ILL requests may be made directly into the library database WorldCat.
Created: Gladden, 2008. Last updated: Thornhill, 2022.
