ONLINE RESOURCES –

GLOBAL ECONOMIC ISSUES:

The Economist:  www.economist.com

Organization: Economist.com provides insight and opinion on international news, world politics, business, finance, science and technology, as well as overviews of cultural trends and regular industry, business and country surveys.  Economist.com publishes all articles from The Economist print edition (including those printed only in British copies) plus a searchable archive of all The Economist’s articles back to June 1997. Links to other articles and to relevant sources on the web are included with many of the stories.

Information Available:  A “Research Tools” section leads to a page allowing a search of articles by subject, backgrounds, surveys, “economics A-Z” and a business encyclopedia.  The Economist prides itself on being ‘extreme centrist’ in its views both endorsing conservatives and liberals but aiming at the middle of the road. Registration is free for access to most of the site.

The World Bank:  www.worldbank.com

Organization: The World Bank Group’s mission is to fight poverty and improve the living standards of people in the developing world. It is a development Bank which provides loans, policy advice, technical assistance and knowledge sharing services to low and middle income countries to reduce poverty. The Bank promotes growth to create jobs and to empower poor people to take advantage of these opportunities.

Information Available:  Through the WB website you can also access the International Bank of Reconstruction and Development, The International Development Agency, The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency, and The International Center for the Settlement of Investment Disputes.  Any imaginable international economic issue will be covered in some capacity by this website in the form of news, publications or project outlines.  Connects people to the economic aspect of the world’s social, political and environmental issues.  Project database can be searched by region, theme, country or sector.

The United Nations Department Of Economic And Social Affairs:  www.un.org/esa

Organization: The Department of Economic and Social Affairs was created as the result of the consolidation of the Department for Policy Coordination and Sustainable Development, the Department for Economic and Social Information and Policy Analysis and the Department for Development Support and Management Services.  The main objective of the Department's program is to promote broad-based and sustainable development through a multidimensional and integrated approach to economic, social, environmental, population and gender related aspects of development.

Information Available:  Any and all economic issues important to the global community can be found in any of the several categorical sections including trade, financing for development and statistics.  Makes the connection between development and economics in several of the subject areas.  UN publications can be downloaded from the site.

The International Monetary Fund:  www.imf.org

Organization:  The IMF is an international organization of 184 member countries. It was established to promote international monetary cooperation, exchange stability, and orderly exchange arrangements; to foster economic growth and high levels of employment; and to provide temporary financial assistance to countries to help ease balance of payments adjustment.  Since the IMF was established its purposes have remained unchanged but its operations — which involve surveillance, financial assistance, and technical assistance — have developed to meet the changing needs of its member countries in an evolving world economy.

Information Available:  Fact sheets provide easy to follow information about some of the more specific jobs of the IMF.  Information available is organized primarily into projects and issues.  Country Info allows the user to choose any country to reveal documents and statistics specific to each country such as GDP and consumer prices.

News Organizations:   www.foxnews.com www.bbcnews.com

Organizations:  Two news agencies for different perspectives.  Fox News is a conservative American view, BBC provides an international perspective.

Information Available:  Both sites can be navigated to a business section and current and recent headlines will lead to stories on international economic issues.

The United States Agency for International Development:  www.usaid.gov

Organization: USAID is an independent federal government agency that receives overall foreign policy guidance from the Secretary of State. USAID supports long-term and equitable economic growth and advances U.S. foreign policy objectives by supporting:economic growth, agriculture and trade; global health; and, democracy, conflict prevention and humanitarian assistance.  USAID provides assistance in four regions of the world: Sub-Saharan Africa; Asia and the Near East; Latin America and the Caribbean, and; Europe and Eurasia. USAID works in close partnership with private voluntary organizations, indigenous organizations, universities, American businesses, international agencies, other governments, and other U.S. government agencies

Information Available: All information is centered around development projects and the economics of global development.  For example, in the Latin America and Caribbean region coffee production is important.  In the Eurasia region focus is on a stable economy to promote democracy.