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Subject Guide for Sources of Information for Developing a Country Business Profile
Contents
Country Overviews
CountryWatch. This
database is a goldmine of global information.ž Economic, political, social and
environmental information can be found here as well as maps, recent wire service
stories, and downloadable data sets. A great place to start.
BBC
World News World Edition: Country Profiles. This database provides
detailed political, economic, and historical background on all countries of
the world. You can also access audio and video archives from the BBC.
Europa World Year Book. JN1 .E85 REF DESK
Far East and Australasia. DS1 .F3 REF
The Middle East and North Africa. DS49 .M5
REF
Africa South of the Sahara. DT351 .A37 REF
Western Europe. HC240 .A1 W43 REF
This series of handbooks provides country-by-country overviews. Each includes geography,
history, somewhat current economic conditions, statistics, and a directory of major people
and organizations within the country. The Europa World Year Book is published every year
and contains all countries. The regional books are published every 2-3 years and contain
more detailed information on the countries covered.
Countries of the World and Their Leaders Yearbook.
G122 .C67 REF DESK
The Statesman's Year-Book. JA51 .S7 REF DESK
These two titles provide basic information on all countries. Topics covered
include history, population, constitution and government, economic conditions,
industries, foreign economic relations, telecommunications, education, and social
welfare.
Craighead's International Business, Travel and Relocation Guide to 81
Countries. Table 8B REF
Gives detailed description of the legal and business climate for each country,
including wages, labor, advertising, etiquette, etc.
World
Factbook. PREX 3.15: REF DESK
Compiled by the Central Intelligence Agency, this resource provides basic information
on almost all countries. Starts with a map, then gives overviews of the geography,
people, government, economic conditions, transportation data, communication
infrastructure, and defense.
Background Notes.
From the U.S. Department of State, this web site links to basic profiles for
most countries. Included are geography, people, politics and government, economic
conditions, national security, and some travel and business information.
Country Studies/Area
Handbook Series.
This series of handbooks provides detailed information for each of the countries
covered. Each study covers history, culture and society, economy, government and
politics, and national security, though not all the studies are up-to-date. There
is also an extensive bibliography for sources of additional information.
CultureGrams. GT150 .C85 REF
For countries world-wide, gives succinct 4-page overview. Includes people,
customs & courtesies, lifestyle, and society.
LexisNexis Academic
LexisNexis Academic is a collection of fulltext database files covering law, business and
current news. To find country profiles in L/N, on the main screen choose Reference, and then click on Country Profiles.
Top of Page
Overviews With a Business Focus
Exporters' Encyclopaedia. Table 8B REF
Organized by country, this directory, produced by Dun & Bradstreet, gives
lots of information on exporting, including some regulatory info. Also has a
section providing key contacts for the country.
OECD
Economic Surveys.
This is a series of individual country reports providing current and short-term
economic outlooks, basic economic policies, labor market background, and other
critical economic developments for each country covered. Covers OECD member
countries and selected others.
Top of Page
Country Statistics
Statistical Yearbook. ST/ESA/STAT/Ser. S UN REF
Demographic Yearbook.ST/ESA/STAT/Ser. R UN REF
Both published by the United Nations, the first title covers population, economic activity,
foreign trade and relations, education and health. Data is given by category rather than
country. The second covers population, natality, mortality and other important demographic
statistics.
Development
Data: Country Data from the World Bank Group.
Provides for most countries 2 pages of data covering key indicators of social
and economic development including population, poverty levels, illiteracy, structure
of the economy, and trade. From a related website, Countries
& Regions, you can also search for country information in over 6,000
World Bank reports.
World Development Report.
The main portion of this report gives a detailed analysis of a current topic related
to development. The report ends with statistical data arranged first by subject, then
by country. Statistics cover quality of life issues, poverty, role of the government
in the economy, distribution of income, education, health, communications, and
science and technology.
Index of
Economic Freedom.
This Heritage Foundation/Wall Street Journal-produced index attempts to empirically
measure levels of economic freedom around the world. Greater economic freedom is generally
associated with a higher level of economic growth and prosperity. This site provides
rankings of countries according to 10 economic factors including taxation, governmental
intervention in the economy, wage and price controls, and black market activities.
Statistical Yearbook. AZ 361 .U45 REF
A UNESCO publication, this covers statistics related to education, science, and culture.
Includes statistics on educational level, scientific and technical employment, book
publishing, newspapers, film, and broadcasting.
Index to International Statistics. Table 3A REF
This is an index to intergovernmental organization publications containing statistical
information. Covered are publications from CEPAL/ECLAC, OECD, the UN, ECAP,
the Arab Monetary Fund and many more. This index can lead to useful country-specific
economic or statistical reviews. SDSU has almost all of the publications indexed.
Top of Page
Statistics with a Business Focus
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Specialized Resources: Business Etiquette
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Specialized Resources: Advertising & Market Research
Exporters' Encyclopaedia. Table 8B REF
Organized by country, this directory, produced by Dun & Bradstreet, gives lots of
information on exporting,
including some regulatory info. Of most interest is the Marketing Data section which has a
part called 'Product Marketing and Advertising'. Also has a section providing key
contacts for the country.
The Handbook of International Direct Marketing.
TABLE 8B REF
Provides direct marketing industry information country-by-country.
Standard Directory of International Advertisers & Agencies.
Table 8A REF
This lists advertisers first, then agencies. Then it's arranged by company name.
It also has sections on international advertising associations and advertising regulations.
Top of Page
Specialized Resources: Media
Advertising worldwide : advertising conditions in selected countries.
Table 8B REF
This book describes the social, culural, and religous aspects of advertising
across the world as well as the legal and business aspects of advertising country-by-country.
Benn's Media. Table 8A REF
This is a guide to the principal publications of Europe, the Americas, Africa,
Asia, and Australasia. Arrangement is geographical and then by type of publication.
Editor & Publisher International Year Book.
PN4700 .E41 REF DESK
This has a section on foreign newspapers with their addresses and circulation
figures. It is organized by region and then by country.
The Penguin atlas of media and information : [key issues and global trends]
Table 8B REF
Using colorful maps and graphics this atlas presents worldwide and country level
information on all manner of media: newspapers, television, radio, internet,
etc.
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Articles about Countries in Magazines, Newspapers and Journals
ABI/Inform.
This database provides access to articles in business research journals and
important industry trade publications. Includes the fulltext of many articles
and lengthy summaries for all the rest. 1970 to the present. Included with ABI/Inform
is Proquest Newsstand and ProQuest Research Library.
Business & Industry Database.
This is an index to over 900 trade and business publications from more than
190 countries. Emphasis is on facts, figures, and key events related to companies,
industries, markets, and products. Over 60 percent of the articles indexed in
B & I are available fulltext - the remaining records include informative
abstracts which highlight the key information and facts discussed in the text.
LexisNexis Academic
LexisNexis Academic is a collection of fulltext database files covering
law, business and current news. To find articles on countries, click on 'General
News Topics', select the source materials you want to search and the dates you
want to search, then type in the country name and additional terms.
GlobalEDGE.com.
GlobalEDGE is a knowledge web-portal that connects international business professionals
worldwide to a wealth of information, insights, and learning resources on global
business activities. By serving as a gateway to specialized knowledge on countries,
cross-border business transactions, and international business, globalEDGE responds
to a real interest expressed by an increasing number of global business academicians
and professionals.
Onlinenewspapers.com
A search
engine and list of more than 3000 newspapers available on the net.
Top of Page
Additional Resources for International Business/Country Information
Transparency International:
Corruption Surveys and Indices
Transparency International (TI) maintains and publishes on the WWW its Corruption
Perceptions Index (CPI), Bribe Payers Perceptions Index (BPI) and much, much more. The CPI
reflects perceptions of the degree of corruption as seen by business people,
risk analysts and the general public, and ranges between 10 (highly clean) and
0 (highly corrupt). The BPI ranks leading exporting countries in terms of the
degree to which their corporations are perceived to be paying bribes abroad.
International Marketing
Webliography.
This site is produced by Jason Martin, Louisiana State University Library. After
looking at the rest of the resources listed on this page, these sites would
be good places to start looking for additional Internet sites that provide access
to country business information.
International Trade
Administration
Compiled by the U.S. International Trade Administration, this site provides
access to ITA and selected other trade-related websites covering most of the
leading markets of the world.
This page http://infodome.sdsu.edu/research/guides/business/countrypro.shtml is maintained by Michael J. Perkins.
Please use our Feedback Form
for your questions, comments, and suggestions.
File saved 04/14/08 11:26 PDT
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