For additional resources on International Business, FDI, and Supply Chain, see the Business & Management Subject Guide
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fDi Markets
fDi Markets is a respected & comprehensive database of crossborder investments, covering all countries and sectors worldwide. It offers granular (deal level) data on investment projects down to local level, including job & investment value data for each project.
ACCESS INSTRUCTIONS: Use your Essex email address. You will be emailed a link to access the content
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GATT Digital Library
Around 60 000 full text documents produced by GATT from 1947 to 1994, covering all aspects of international trade.
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Global Preferential Trade Agreements Database (GPTAD)
Information on PTAs around the world, including agreements not notified to the WTO. PTAs can be sorted by membership, date of signature, in-force status, and other key criteria. It is also possible to sort agreements by type such as anti-dumping, import and export restrictions and tariffs. Note: does not appear to have been updated since 2006
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Global Trade Analysis Project (GTAP)
Well-known & long-established (1993) project led by Purdue University. The GTAP Data Base contains complete bilateral trade information, transport and protection linkages. The GTAP Data Base represents the world economy and is utilised as a key input into most applied general equilibrium analysis of global economic issues. Current & pre-current versions of the database need to be purchased, but older editions are freely available
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IMF Direction of Trade Statistics (DOTS)
Free access to IMF trade statistics for all countries 1948- via UK Data Service. Figures for the value of merchandise exports and imports between each country and all its trading partners. Total bilateral and multilateral exports and imports are aggregated at national or regional group level. Also available as from IMF (annual data from 1947, monthly or quarterly from 1960)
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International Centre for Trade & Sustainable Development (ICTSD)
Independent NGO based in Geneva. Full text of some publications is available
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Market Potential Index
Initiated in 1996 with a focus on emerging markets & expanded in 2016 to a wider range of countries, the MPI rankings are a project of Michigan State University International Business Center
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Observatory of Economic Complexity
Interesting website that has developed from its origins in 2011 in providing trade data. Whilst trade is still the primary focus there are also country economy profiles and indices of economic complexity. Much data remains free to access, but some (e.g, sub-national data) requires a subscription
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OECD Balanced Trade Statistics
Comprises two datasets:
OECD Balanced International Merchandise Trade dataset (BIMTS)
OECD-WTO Balanced Trade in Services (BaTiS) They try & reduce asymmetries in bilateral trade data for 190+ countries, 1995-
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Our World in Data - International Trade
Useful introduction to international trade with links to data sources.
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Peterson Institute for International Economics
(formerly the Institute for International Economics)
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Trade Policy Hub
Specialist unit based at LSE offering free access to some of their reports relating to policy dimensions of international trade
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UN Comtrade
The most comprehensive trade database of commodities and products for countries of the world (1962-), effectively supersedes:
International trade statistics yearbook 1983- HF 1.Y4 and Online (1992-)
Continuation of: Yearbook of international trade statistics 1950-1982. HF 1.Y4
For great visualisations based on Comtrade data see the Atlas of Economic Complexity from the Center for International Development, Harvard University.
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Annual time series data back to 1970 is available from key database UNCTADstat
Major publications include:
Least developed countries report (UNCTAD) 1984-2012 HC 61.U6 and Online (1996-)
Trade and development report 1982-2012 HF 1416 and Online (1996-)
UNCTAD handbook of statistics Online (2002-)
World investment report 1996- HG 4538.W6 and Online (1991-)
Also various databases, including:
World Integrated Trade Solution (WITS) - data on international trade, tariff and non-tariff measures. Uses UN Comtrade data (you must register in order to access data)
LPI (Logistics Performance Index) for benchmarking country trade logistics performance
International Trade Costs (World Bank/ESCAP). Data from 1995-2018 for countries around the world
Business Ready new programme with data 2024- which seems to have superseded:
Doing business in ... comparative data (and publications) 2002-2019 on business regulations & their measurement for countries around the world
Including:
Tariff & Trade Data provides official tariff and import data for more than 150 economies, including annual data from 1996 onwards for many of them
Trade Monitoring Database which provides detailed information on trade measures implemented by WTO members and observers since October 2008.
Trade Cost Index database looking at changes in trade costs for 43 economies 2000-2018, with data at sector level
Research Database on Trade & Gender
Flagship publications:
World trade report Online (2003-)
World trade statistical review Online (2016-) continuation of: International trade statistics Online (2001-2015)
