Research Guides: Economics: Find Primary (Financial) Sources

Primary Sources in Economics

government records
maps
raw data (such as from polls or censuses)
data in tables
newspaper articles
and more!

To find primary sources specifically, couple the topic of your subject heading with relevant subheadings that relate to the historical time period, place of origin, and item format of the materials that interest you. Use the Library Search for materials.

These "complex subjects" (containing more than one idea) have their own particular notation.

Example: if you are looking for data on the Federal Reserve Bank use "GDP - Federal Reserve" for more targeted results.

Finding Primary Sources: Library of Congress Subject Headings

This guide by the MIT library showcases useful subheadings for identifying primary source material and demonstrates how you can use them in your own searches.

Examples of Primary Sources in Economics

Statista
Why search here? Explore quantitative data and statistics from a wide range of international sources on a variety of industry and social topics.
Content type: Statistics, data, industry reports, reports, graphs
Coverage dates: 2008-present
Statista also provides a variety of reports and graphs about popular and current topics.
Language: English

Sage Data
Provides data from many geographic jurisdictions including federal, state, local and international.
(available to Claremont Colleges faculty staff and students only)

Social Explorer
Why search here? Visually explore hundreds of thousands of variables related to demography, economics, health, politics, the environment and more, with the ability to generate custom reports and maps.
Content type: Data
Special Note: Create an account to save data.
U.S. data sources include the decennial census, American Community Survey, FBI Uniform Crime Report, American election results, Religious Congregations and Membership Study, Vulcan Project carbon emissions data, U.S. Business Patterns, and County Health Rankings. It also includes international data from the United Kingdom Census, Canadian Census, Eurostat, and World Development Indicators.
Language: English
World Development Indicators
Why search here? Explore the World Bank's collection of development indicators, which includes current and historical international economic and development data on national, regional, and global levels.
Content type: Economic data
Coverage dates: 1960-present
Even though Global Development Finance (GDF) is no longer listed in the WDI database name, all external debt and financial flows data continue to be included in WDI.
Language: English, Spanish, French, Arabic, Chinese
Keywords: World Bank DataBank

Data.gov
The purpose of Data.gov is to increase public access to high value, machine readable datasets generated by the Executive Branch of the Federal Government.

Gallup Analytics
Why search here? Analyze, visualize, and export data from Gallup's U.S. Daily tracking and World Poll surveys, covering topics such as economics, politics, and well-being.
Content type: Data from public opinion polls
Combines data from three databases. Gallup World Poll: covers more than 160 countries (2005-present). Gallup Daily tracking: data taken from 1000 U.S. residents 350 days a year using two surveys (the U.S. Daily and the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index). Gallup Brain: a searchable, living record of public opinion dating back to 1935.
Language: English
Keywords: Gallup Brain
Proquest Congressional
Why search here? Good for providing a unique perspective on all aspects of U.S. History through this large collection of congressional documents., which includes abstracts to Congressional hearings, committee reports, bill files, and more.
Content type: Primary sources, abstracts, government documents, committee reports, bill files, witness testimony, transcripts
Coverage dates: 1789-present
Full-text is available through 2010, later for some titles. Full-Text Hearings 1824-2010; (CRS) Reports 1916-present, committee prints from 1830-current; Serials Set documents from 1789; the Congressional Record (1969-1994 in print); and Executive Orders and Presidential Proclamations, 1789-2017.
Language: English

Database Links for Company Financial Data

Hoover's
Why search here? Good for financial and directory information on companies.
Content type: Financial data, directory information
Coverage dates: 1991-present
We do not have access to all Hoover's content, such as industry reports, and the ability to download large lists of companies.
Language: English
Keywords: Dun Bradstreet
Mergent Online
Why search here? Access unique financial information such as corporate bond data and industry ratios, in addition to other information regarding public and private U.S. and International companies.
Content type: Data, SEC reports, company financials, annual reports, company information
Coverage dates: 10 years ago - present
Includes company financials, subsidiaries, capital stock (ex. dividends and splits), executive officers, insider traders, SEC filings, company news, company annual reports, competitor information, equity and corporate bond portraits, and industry reports.
Language: English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Japanese and Korean
Standard & Poor's NetAdvantage
Why search here? Good for finding quality industry and market reports for a selection of very large industries.
Content type: Industry reports, market reports, demographic data, financial data
Coverage dates: 2020-present
Stock Reports are not available.
Language: English
Keywords: Capital IQ Net Advantage S&P
Refinitiv Eikon Workspace
Why search here? Search here for financial data on U.S. and international companies, including global coverage of equities, indices, stock markets, derivatives, commodities, futures, currencies, bond markets, exchange rates, company financials, and economic data.
Content type: Financial data, economic data, news reports, analyst reports
Coverage dates: 1968-present
Special Note: All users must request a Workspace account.
Eikon has some unique data, including Equity and ESG data as well as international data from Worldscope.
Language: English
Value Line Investment Survey
Why search here? Good for viewing a financial snapshot of companies and provides financial strength ratings.
Content type: Company information, financial data
Coverage dates: Current year only
Some files are updated daily, while others are updated weekly.
Language: English
WRDS Faculty/Graduate Access
Why search here? Find, extract, and analyze historical financial and accounting data for corporations and banks as well as other economic data.
Content type: Financial data, economic data
Coverage dates: 1925-present
Special Note: Register for a pass with your school email and select Claremont McKenna College as your institution.
Accounts are usually approved within 24 hours. Class accounts are available for faculty to share with students. We do not subscribe to all databases available through WRDS. Active subscriptions are usually highlighted. Includes access to I/B/E/S; Compustat; Center for Research in Security Prices (CRSP); Thomson Reuters Institutional Holdings (13F) database; Wharton research data services; CUSIP; Institutional Shareholder Services formerly RiskMetrics); Fama French; Execucomp; Penn World Tables; Pitchbook.
Language: English
Keywords: Wharton Research Data Services
WRDS Undergraduate/5 Day Access
Why search here? Find, extract, and analyze historical financial and accounting data for corporations and banks as well as other economic data.
Content type: Financial data, economic data
Coverage dates: 1957-present
Special Note: Register for a 5 day pass with your school email and Claremont McKenna College as your institution.
We do not subscribe to all databases available through WRDS. Active subscriptions are usually highlighted. Includes access to I/B/E/S; Compustat; Center for Research in Security Prices (CRSP); Thomson Reuters Institutional Holdings (13F) database; Wharton research data services; CUSIP; Institutional Shareholder Services formerly RiskMetrics); Fama French; Execucomp; Penn World Tables; Pitchbook.
Language: English
Keywords: Wharton Research Data Services

IGO Database Links for Data and Statistics

IMF Data
Why search here? Good for bank and government financial data from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Content type: Data
Includes International Financial Statistics (1948-present), Government Finance Statistics, Balance of Payments Statistics (1948-present) and Direction of Trade Statistics (1980-present).
Language: English, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, Spanish
UNdata
Why search here? Good for simultaneously searching major United Nations and other international statistical databases to access some of the oldest socioeconomic data available.
Content type: Data, economic data, statistics
Coverage dates: 1950-present
Includes current information on populations, trade, standard of living, and the environment.
Language: English
Keywords: UN Data

Eurostat (European Union Statistics)
Page with statistics and opinion polls. Most of the information is free.