Library Guides: Economics: Background Information

Overview of Economics

[Economics is] the study of scarcity, the study of how people use resources, or the study of decision-making. Economics often involves topics like wealth, finance, recessions, and banking, leading to the misconception that economics is all about money and the stock market. Actually, it's a much broader discipline that helps us understand historical trends, interpret today's headlines, and make predictions for coming decades.

American Economic Association

Economics can be broadly divided into two main branches, microeconomics and macroeconomics. Microeconomics studies how individuals make choices under constraints. Macroeconomics studies the economy on a large scale. Central to economics as a discipline are models—theoretical, stylized constructs representing and describing economic processes. Statistical methods and tools are constantly being developed to take economic models to data in the field of econometrics.

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News and Popular Press

Access World News Research Collection This link opens in a new window
Provides full-text information and perspectives from thousands of U.S. and international news sources, each with its own distinctive focus, offering diverse viewpoints on local, regional and global issues. Date coverage varies with individual newspaper.
Newspaper source plus This link opens in a new window
Find newspaper articles, especially from local and regional newspapers.
Nexis Uni (formerly LexisNexis Academic) This link opens in a new window
Find newspaper coverage, particularly in national and international newspapers.

The Economist
Full text of current and past issues can be accessed through various third-party vendor databases; go to the Access Online tab in this title's catalog record. Print editions are also available; refer to the Locations tab in this title's catalog record.

Economist Historical Archive This link opens in a new window
Delivers a complete searchable copy of every issue of The Economist from 1843 to 2015. New full-colour images, multiple search indexes, exportable financial tables and a gallery of front covers highlighting a key topic of each week - all combine to offer a primary source of research covering the 19th and 20th centuries. The Economist Historical Archive complements the Times Digital Archive, also available from Gale/Cengage Learning.
Economist Intelligence Unit This link opens in a new window
Provides analysis and forecast of the political, economic and business environment in more than 200 countries. Included in the database are Country Reports on individual countries and Industry Briefing, which provides forecasts and analysis on key strategic industries (automotive, consumer goods, energy, financial services, healthcare, telecommunications, commodities).

Marketplace
The Marketplace® portfolio of programs are noted for their timely, relevant and accessible coverage of business, society and the economy.
Wall Street Journal
Full text of current and past issues can be accessed through various third-party vendor databases; go to the Access Online tab in this title's catalog record. Print editions are also available; refer to the Locations tab in this title's catalog record.
Financial Times
Full text of current and past issues can be accessed through various third-party vendor databases; go to the Access Online tab in this title's catalog record. Older issues are available in microform; refer to the Locations tab in this title's catalog record.