RESOURCE DATABASE
General Organizations
General | Health | Time | Economic Mobility | Family
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
From the UNDP website: “UNDP is the UN's global development network, an organization advocating for change and connecting countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life. We are on the ground in 166 countries, working with them on their own solutions to global and national development challenges. As they develop local capacity, they draw on the people of UNDP and our wide range of partners. UNDP helps developing countries attract and use aid effectively. In all our activities, we encourage the protection of human rights and the empowerment of women.”
The World Bank
The official site of the World Bank, an international consortium of “development institutions” which provide financial and technical assistance to developing countries around the world, includes extensive economic data on more than one hundred and eighty countries.
The World Trade Organization
The World Trade Organization (WTO), which coordinates trade policy for over 150 countries, produces two broad categories of research and analysis: regular assessments of the global trade picture in the WTO annual publications and research reports on specific topics.
The International Monetary Fund
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) includes 185 member countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty. The IMF publishes a range of time series data on IMF lending, exchange rates and other economic and financial indicators. Manuals, guides, and other material on statistical practices at the IMF, in member countries, and of the statistical community at large are also available.
The New Economics Foundation
The UK-based New Economics Foundation (NEF) is a self-described “think-and-do tank that inspires and demonstrates real economic well-being.” Founded in 1986, NEF’s aim is to improve quality of life by promoting innovative solutions that challenge mainstream thinking on economic, environmental and social issues.
Redefining Progress: The Nature of Economics
Redefining Progress is a public policy think tank dedicated to a sustainable economy, a healthy environment and a just society. Founded in 1995, Redefining Progress created the Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI) as an alternative to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Many people believe that the GPI is a more accurate measure of economic and social welfare than GDP because it takes account of the economic and social costs associated with inequality, environmental degradation, and external debt as well as the economic and social benefits associated with volunteering, housework, parenting, and ecological restoration.
The Center for Economic and Policy Research
The Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) was established in 1999 to “promote democratic debate on the most important economic and social issues that affect people's lives.” The center is involved in both professional research and public education.
The International Labour Organization
The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a tripartite UN agency that brings together governments, employers and workers of its member states in common action to promote decent work throughout the world. The main aims of the ILO are to promote rights at work, encourage decent employment opportunities, enhance social protection and strengthen dialogue in handling work-related issues.
The Economic Freedom of the World Project
The “Economic Freedom of the World Project” is committed to promoting economic freedom around the world. Each year, it releases an Economic Freedom of the World Report, which uses 38 variables to measure economic freedom in 130 nations. In 2006, the United States ranked 3rd.
