Africa's Economic Prospects: Globalization and Economic Institutions
| Professor: John Todd Librarian: Carr Ross Spring 2007 |
Courtesy of Canadian Space Agency |
The purpose of this guide is to identify library sources that will help you with your paper assignments in this class. Although these sources will be helpful, you will have additional needs depending on your topic. If you have questions feel free to contact Carr Ross in Hawthorne-Longfellow Library (x3545 or cross@bowdoin.edu).
BOOKS
When looking for books about a country in any of these catalogs, type the name of the country in the search box and select SUBJECT as the search method.
Bowdoin College Library Catalog
- books, videos, government documents, etc. in Bowdoin's Libraries.
NExpress
- combined catalog containing the library holdings of Bowdoin, Bates, Colby, Wellesley, Williams, and Northeastern University. It has an online request button; requests take about 2 days.
MaineCat
- includes the holdings of most Maine libraries. It has an online request button; requests from Bates and Colby about 2 days.
WorldCat
- a combined database of many library catalogs worldwide
Articles and Working Papers
Articles
Not all of these indexes provide the full text of their sources. Search the library's catalog by title to see if Bowdoin owns the ones you want. If we do not, then place a request with the Interlibrary Loan service.
OxResearch
- succinct analytical articles (from Oxford Analytica) covering world and regional economic and political developments of major significance; evaluates issues and events within a coherent political, social, and economic framework; search by location (e.g., Benin) or topic (e.g., economic development), or a combination
Business Source Premier
- covers articles in economics & business periodicals (including reports from Economist Intelligence Unit)
Note: the best way to search for analysis on a particular country is to type your country into the search box and select GE Geographic Terms from the dropdown menu; when the results have displayed, select to see Country Reports
Econlit
- the primary index for scholarly literature in economics; it covers journal articles, books, and working papers
PAIS International
- excellent sourse for public policy, economics, government topics; international in coverage
Academic Search Premier
- a general, multi-subject index covering the social sciences, humanities and sciences; it includes many popular magazines and scholarly journals.
Lexis/Nexis Academic
- full-text database of newspaper database; it provides access to current and up to 20 years of retrospective news, both domestic and international
Access World News
- full-text access to international news stories
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Working Papers
CIAO: Columbia International Affairs Online
- includes working papers from private institutions (e.g., Brookings Institution, American Enterprise Institute, Cato Institute), university research institutes, occasional papers series from NGOs, foundation-funded research projects, and proceedings from conferences.
National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)
Social Science Research Network
- economics research papers, public policy research papers, economics departments papers, and government & public agency research papers
RePEc: Research Papers in Economics
- working papers, journal articles, software components, author information, directory of institutions
Institute for International Economics
Country Overviews, Statistics, Forecasts, and Reports
Brief Overviews
Background Notes
- brief, current look at each country's land, people, history, government, political conditions, economy, and foreign relations
Political Handbook of the World
Main Ref JF37 .P6
- very good overview of the political situation in countries
The World Factbook Note: this CIA web site has been flaky in recent days
- current, brief look at each country's geography, people, government, economy, transportation, communications
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Lengthier Reports and Statistics
Europa World Plus
Europa Regional Surveys of the World: Africa South of the Sahara
Main Ref DT351.A37
Europa Regional Surveys of the World: Middle East and North Africa
Main Ref DS49.M5
- use the online version for the most recent release, the print volumes for older data & information; these surveys are excellent for moderate-length descriptions of a country's recent history, economy, and statistics
Human Development Report (U.N. Development Programme)
Main Ref HD72 .H85 (Annual; Library has 1991, 1999- )
Internet (1990- )
- economic policy and advocacy as they relate to the goals needed to achieve long-term human well-being; each yearly volume concentrates on a theme (covers all countries but there are several national reports on African countries); includes many tables of economic and social indicators; presents global, regional, and national reports - use the FIND REPORT tool on the right-hand side of the screen
The Least Developed Countries Report (United Nations)
Main Ref HC59.7.L328 (Annual; Library has 1984- ; Statistical Supplement, 1995- )
- each issue contains a discussion of economic trends in the group of least developed countries then turns its attention to a specific topic such as "Escaping the Poverty Trap" or "Linking International Trade with Poverty Reduction; concludes with a statistical annex
World Development Report (World Bank)
Main Ref HC 59.7.W659 (Annual; Library has 1978- )
Internet (1995- )
- the Report is a guide to the economic, social and environmental state of the world; each annual volume provides analysis of a particular topic of development, e.g., creating a better investment climate, sustainable development, services; includes a statistical annex.
World Development Indicators (World Bank)
- over 500 development indicators for over 200 countries and country groups
World Economic Outlook Database (IMF)
(1980- )
- selected macroeconomic series for countries and groups
International Monetary Fund
Of particular interest:
World Bank Group
Of particular interest:
International Financial Statistics
- from the International Monetary Fund, provides data for most countries on exchange rates, international liquidity, international banking, money & banking, interest rates, prices, production, international transactions, government finance, and national accounts.
Laborsta Internet (International Labour Organization)
- this very useful database contains country data on population, employment, unemployment, hours of work, wages, labor cost, consumer price indices, occupational injuries, strikes and lockouts; some data available back to 1969.
Selected Gateways
Africa South of the Sahara - Stanford University Libraries
Africa Studies Center - University of Pennsylvania