International Relations 322
Political Economy of North-South Relations
Suggested Sources of Background and Current Information
Database of
Statistical Resources
Librarian contact
information
Web Sites focused on Development
Projects
The following web sites are excellent sources of
socioeconomic background information on various countries. In a number
of them you can also access the full texts of sponsored development project
reports, summaries and evaluations. Please be reminded that web pages continually
change thus any path or suggested entry points listed below may become
obsolete at any time.
IMF
STAFF COUNTRY REPORTS IN FULL TEXT
The International Monetary Fund
has begun to make selected staff country reports available in Adobe Acrobat
(.pdf) format . The reports are in-depth studies that discuss such
issues as recent economic developments and policies, poverty, banking,
etc.
-
Access Country reports
using the Country Info
or the Publication
links at the top of the page.
UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT
PROGRAM
The UNDP is the UN's principal provider of development
advice, advocacy and grant support.
Important features of the web site:
-
Project Documents and Evaluations can be found by following
this path: Discover UNDP/Project Information/Program Documentation Library.
-
This web site provides access to the Human Development Reports
from 1990-
-
Provides access to the Human Development Indicators database
UNITED STATES
AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (USAID)
The web page produced by USAID provides information on
its programs throughout the world. You can find texts of useful reports
and program evaluation publications.
-
An efficient entry point is to click through using the "WHERE"
choice and drilling down through "Country Information" to the country of
your choice. "Budget Justifications or Congressional Presentations" are
excellent sources of information. The "Activity and Budget information"
section of those reports provides links to reports on PROJECTS involving
that country.
WORLD BANK
The World Bank Group's web site provides access to full
texts and summaries of a number of it's publications. For a description
of the reports issued during a development project cycle see:
http://www.worldbank.org/infoshop/projectcycle.htm
From the World Bank Home page -
-
Use the Countries
and Regions link to get country
overviews and access to available texts and summaries of some of the Program
Information Documents.
-
You can also access the project related reports via the Documents
and Reports tab on the home page.
-
Under Data and Statistics,
utilize the Data Query feature to find 5 years of data from the World Development
Indicators database or link to the recent editions of World Development
Report. This annual report is "an invaluable guide to the economic,
social and environmental state of the world today. Each year the WDR provides
in depth analysis of a specific aspect of development. Past reports have
considered such topics as the role of the state, transition economies,
labor, infrastructure, health, the environment, and poverty." Printed
copies of this report are available in Fairchild Library.
Additional sources of Country Data:
ELDIS:
THE GATEWAY TO INFORMATION ON DEVELOPMENT AND THE ENVIRONMENT
Eldis is funded by the Danish development
agency Danida, and hosted by the Institute of
Development Studies, Sussex, England.
Eldis is a gateway to online information on
development. Coverage includes
social, economic, political and environmental issues.
NATIONAL TRADE DATA
BANK (FROM STAT-USA)
NTDB, created by the U.S. Department of Commerce, provides
access to a variety of U.S. produced reports on foreign countries, their
economic conditions, commercial and labor policies, and market opportunities
in various sectors. Country Commercial Guides
give an overview of the economic trends and political environment as they
effect trade.
Database
of Statistical Resources
STATISTICAL
UNIVERSE - This new database provides indexing to approximately
2000 statistical reports from major international international intergovernment
organizations. Use it in conjunction with the IIS
microfiche collection in FM Library. Coverage extends back to 1983.
Takes the place of the Index to International Statistics.
-
Power Tables: search allows you to
retrieve images of tables containing data. Limited availability of international
data from this search
-
Abstracts: searches all IIS (International
Agency) reports back to 1983. Provides report finding numbers for IIS fiche
collections. Also useful for discovering which agency collects data in
question. With this information you might also conduct a web search of
the agency's website for a copy of the report.
Useful Gateways
to International Relations Web Resources:
INFODOME-
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
Source: Lehigh University Library
Provides access and pointers to useful databases and other
resources made available to Lehigh University International Relations students
and faculty.
FOREIGN
GOVERNMENT RESOURCES ON THE WEB
Source: University of Michigan Library Data: HTML text,
links
Comprehensive gateway to foreign government sites and
other sources of foreign government information.
INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
RESOURCES
Source: Political Science Department, Elizabethtown College
Comprehensive gateway for international relations researchers,
including links international organizations and national governments, plus
links on particular topics such as grant opportunities, international law
and economic development.
INTERNET
GUIDE FOR CHINA STUDIES
Source: Institute of Chinese Studies, Heidelberg University
Comprehensive metasite for information on China and East
Asia. Provides access to resources on social, cultural, environmental and
economic topics.
LATIN
AMERICAN STUDIES (WORLD WIDE WEB VIRTUAL LIBRARY)
Source: Latin American Network Information Center, University
of Texas
The objective of LANIC is to provide Latin American users
with access to academic databases and information services throughout the
Internet world, and to provide Latin Americanists around the world with
access to information on and from Latin America.
REESWeb:
RUSSIAN AND EAST EUROPEAN STUDIES
Source: Center for Russian and East European Studies,
Univ. of Pittsburg
REESWeb is a comprehensive index of electronic resources
on the Balkans, the Baltic States, the Caucusus, Central Asia, Central
Europe, the CIS, Eastern Europe, the NIS, the Russian Federation and the
former Soviet Union.
Selected
Print and Microfiche Resources:
IIS
Microfiche Collection of International Agency Statistical Reports:
Listed below are some examples
of the useful series indexed in Statistical Universe which are available
in Fairchild IIS Microfiche collection:
Development Committee Papers IIS
microfiche collection (Various years)4530-S27
Economic and Social Progress in
Latin America: 1995 report (Inter-American Development Bank) IIS (96)1670-S1
Policy Research Working Papers (IBDR)
IIS
(96)4530-S37
Social Indicators of Development
1994 (World Bank) IIS (94)4530-26
ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL SURVEY OF ASIA
AND THE PACIFIC 2000 -- F-DOC-R --330.95 U582ea
ECONOMIC SURVEY OF LATIN AMERICA
AND THE CARIBBEAN, 1998- 1999 -- F-DOC-R 330.98 U581ea (also software
on Reserve)
EUROPA WORLD YEAR BOOK, 2001
-- L-REF 914 E89a
INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL STATISTICS
YEARBOOK, 2001 -- FM-1-REF 332.05 I61ib
STATISTICAL ABSTRACT OF THE WORLD,
1994 -- FM-1-REF 310 S7972
STATISTICAL HANDBOOK : STATES
OF THE FORMER USSR --1993 FM-1-REF 314.7 S797
WORLD ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL SURVEY,
1999-- F-DOC-R 330.9 U575wa
WORLD DEVELOPMENT REPORT
(Latest edition is 2002) FM-3-North 330.91724 W9271
WORLD FACTBOOK, 2001 -- FM-1-REF
-- 910 W927, also on the WWW
WORLD TABLES, 1995 -- FM-1-REF
-- 330 I61w
For assistance with these resources
or consultation on your project don't hesitate to call me.
Roseann Bowerman, Social Sciences Librarian, Lehigh
University
Phone - 758-3053, Email - rb04@lehigh.edu
Office located in Linderman Library, Room 100A
- Call for appointment.
Open consultation hours in Fairchild Library: Weds 1:30 to 5pm in the
Fairchild Martindale Library Consulting Room.
