LibGuides: IECO-4970 Research Project Design: Useful Datasets

GCC Countries

Integrated Public Use Microdata Series (IPUMS) Databases IPUMS contains household survey and census data for a wide range of countries, time periods, and topics. Visit the IPUMS website for descriptions of all databases. The benefits of IPUMS is that a lot of work has gone into making it easier than normal to compare variables across time, countries, and datasets. Follow the IPUMS link for more datasets, all of which are publicly available and easy to access
IPUMS-TimeUse provides individual level data (from 2003 forward) describing what people spend their time on. You can view how much time people spend doing personal care, housework (broken down by cooking, laundry, cleaning, etc), working, looking for jobs, taking classes and also leisure time
IPUMS-USA contains U.S. Census and American Community Survey data dating back to 1850. Variables include demographics, marital and family status, household characteristics such as appliances in the household, income, education, health insurance, internal migration, tobacco use, disability, commute time
IPUMS-Health contains information on health and health care access in the U.S. dating back to 1960. There is also a longitudinal panel survey on heath care expenditures

Additional sources

Other data sets you could look into if the initial data sets do not work for you

Firm Related

Annual Survey of Industries (ASI) in India cross-sectional plant level data for Indian manufacturing firms. Contains data on all formal sector large plants and a sample of formal sector small plants. Information includes data on things such as plant location, products produced, revenues, input costs, intermediate input usage, energy usage
Chilean Annual Manufacturing Census (ENIA) Data (in Spanish) panel data on Chilean manufacturing plants. Contains information on all plants with more than 10 employees. Information is less detailed than the ASI in terms of variables, but has the benefit that you can follow plants over time. This means you can look at entry and exit. Includes information on each plant's industry, revenues, input costs
KLD Research Ratings Contains dummy variables on a range of qualitative issues such as corporate governance, diversity, human rights, etc on large public firms in the U.S. An example of dummy is "The company recently has either paid substantial fines or civil penalties for willful violations of employee health and safety standards, or has been otherwise involved in major health and safety controversies." This database could be useful if combined with something like Compustat

If you are interested in working with data on financial information there are several datasets that might be of interest to you, like AuditAnalytics (data on auditors & bankruptcy filings); OSIRIS Insurance (data on insurance companies); CSMAR (data on the Chinese Stock Market); ISSM (data on the New York Stock Exchange); FISD (data on bonds and bond issuers); and OptionMetrics (data on options). Working with these databases requires significant knowledge about the financial sector, and so these topics should only be pursued if you are feeling particularly ambitious. Keep in mind that time series projects are not allowed.

Household or Individual

India Human Development Survey You can merge the data from the first and the second round to form a panel
Demographic and Health Surveys use this to do cross-country comparisons
ICPSR rich data resources from research in the social and behavioral sciences

International Datasets

Eurostat
Eurostat produces European statistics in partnership with National Statistical Institutes and other national authorities in the EU Member States. This partnership is known as the European Statistical System (ESS). It also includes the statistical authorities of the European Economic Area (EEA) countries and Switzerland.
IPUMS International
IPUMS International is an effort to inventory, preserve, and disseminate census microdata from around the world.

International Monetary Fund e-Library This link opens in a new window
The International Monetary Fund's (IMF) eLibrary simplifies analysis and research with direct access to the IMF’s periodicals, books, working papers and studies, and data and statistical tools. You will find information and perspective on macroeconomics, globalization, development, trade and aid, technical assistance, demographics, emerging markets, policy advice, poverty reduction, and so much more.
Neliti This link opens in a new window
Neliti is a collection of over 300,000 books, datasets and journal articles from Southeast Asia, funded by the National Library of Indonesia.
Qatar Open Data Portal This link opens in a new window
The Qatar Open Data Portal was launched in 2019 to provide a platform for government entities to share data and make it reachable to the public. The portal provides access to open datasets and important statistical information from government entities in a single resource. The main features of this portal are available in the platform catalog.
Sage Research Methods: Datasets This link opens in a new window
Over 500 datasets from government and academic sources, each demonstrating a specific analytic method. Both qualitative and quantitative examples are included. Part of SAGE Research Methods. Not all cases in this resource are included in Georgetown's subscription.
World Bank Data Catalog This link opens in a new window
The World Bank's Open Data initiative is intended to provide all users with access to World Bank data. These resources include databases, pre-formatted tables and reports.
The data catalog is a listing of available World Bank data sources. This listing will continue to be updated as additional data resources are added.
Each of the listings includes a description of the data source and a direct link to that source. Where possible, the databases are linked directly to a selection screen to allow users to select the countries, indicators, and years they would like to search. Those search results can be exported in different formats. Users can also choose to download the entire database directly from the catalog.

The World Bank | Microdata Library
The Microdata Library is a service established to facilitate access to microdata that provide information about people living in developing countries, their institutions, their environment, their communities and the operation of their economies.
UNdata
UNdata is a web-based data service for the global user community. It brings international statistical databases within easy reach of users through a single-entry point. Users can search and download a variety of statistical resources compiled by the United Nations (UN) statistical system and other international agencies. The numerous databases or tables collectively known as "datamarts" contain over 60 million data points and cover a wide range of statistical themes including agriculture, crime, communication, development assistance, education, energy, environment, finance, gender, health, labour market, manufacturing, national accounts, population and migration, science and technology, tourism, transport and trade.
World Inequality Database
The World Inequality Database (WID.world) aims to provide open and convenient access to the most extensive available database on the historical evolution of the world distribution of income and wealth, both within countries and between countries.

Datasets - United States

Consumer Expenditure Surveys | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
The Consumer Expenditure Surveys (CE) program provides data on expenditures, income, and demographic characteristics of consumers in the United States.

Data.gov This link opens in a new window
Increases the ability to easily find, download, and use datasets that are generated and held by the Federal Government. Provides descriptions of the Federal datasets (metadata), information about how to access the datasets, and tools that leverage government datasets.
The data catalogs will continue to grow as datasets are added. Federal, Executive Branch data are included in the first version of Data.gov.

Google Dataset Search
Dataset Search is a search engine for datasets available in various repositories on the web.
National Bureau of Economic Research
The NBER data collection here is an eclectic mix of public use economic, demographic, and enterprise data obtained over the years to satisfy the specific requests of NBER affiliated researchers for particular projects. There are also files created as the output of NBER projects and intended for wider use. Where allowed by the sources, we offer access to these files that may be useful to other researchers or in aid of replication studies.
National Longitudinal Surveys
The National Longitudinal Surveys (NLS) are a set of surveys designed to gather information at multiple points in time on the labor market activities and other significant life events of several groups of men and women. NLS data have served as an important tool for economists, sociologists, and other researchers for more than 50 years.
Producer Price Indexes | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
The Producer Price Index (PPI) program measures the average change over time in the selling prices received by domestic producers for their output. The prices included in the PPI are from the first commercial transaction for many products and some services.
U.S. Census Bureau Data
The U.S. Census Bureau provides detailed data on households, individuals, establishments, and economic transactions. Researchers can find data on income, employment, business operations, and more.

Trends and Policy: U.S. Immigration This link opens in a new window
Datasets, statutes, policy documents, and more on immigration in the United States. Largely drawn from various U.S. government sources. Statistics from many reports have been converted into CSV and Excel tables and users can export the statistics or create and export charts directly in the product for use in assignments and research.

IECO-4970 Research Project Design: Useful Datasets

GCC Countries

Recommended

Additional sources

International Datasets

Datasets - United States