Monday, March 05, 2012

Spotlight on the OECD

It is Monday and while the waiting for that third cup of coffee (or tea) to kick in, why not read a little about the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD)? While there are probably a few of you non-governmental folks out there who can't imagine stuffing another acronym into your memory back, I would encourage you to find some room for this group.

First, who is the OECD and what do they do? This group started with 20 countries (18 European and the US and Canada), which were dedicated to development. It now is made up of 34 countries, most of the world's most developed countries and a few emerging countries. To be a member of OECD, countries must meet OECD standards on a wide range of policy areas (from economics to human rights).

Now that your brain is running away from all this history and policy, watch this video:



Ah, Paris. I would love to take a free trip to Paris. Want to try? Check out the OECD's contest page.

Alright, enough daydreaming of climbing the Eiffel Tower or strolling through the Louvre, let's take a look at some of the information you can find from the OECD. For example, there has been a lot of talk from the Occupy movement about the 99%, but is this real? And how widespread it this? Check out this video:



One of the amazing things that the OECD does is data gathering (by now you should know I will always get to numbers at some point) and since their membership contains many of the top economies in the world, this is a great group to go to when studying the developed world. Now the video links you to a web page with some of the information on this topic, but wouldn't you like to see all the data and the book itself? If you are here on campus (or off campus with the VPN), you can. We have a great database called the OECD iLibrary and in it you can access the full-text of Divided  We Stand: Why Inequality Keeps Rising and so much more.

The data used in this book and that you can use to write your own study on this topic can be found in the OECD iLibrary's Social Expenditures Statistics data set, which has a section on Income Inequality, which has data on most of the members from the 70s till now.

But, that is not all you will find in the OECD iLibrary, just this year CU-Boulder has added access to IEA energy statistics (that is the International Energy Agency for those interested). These statistics have information such as use, production and prices of oil, natural gas, renewables, and other energy products. To see what data from this can look like, see this table:
IEA Energy Prices and Taxes in OECD iLibrary
Still want more? Check out the library's guide to the OECD.
Posted by Jennie at 10:49 AM
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Friday, March 02, 2012

1940 Census Online starting April 2nd!!!

Genealogists are thrilled by the pending release of the personal records from the 1940 Census.   On April 2nd, National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) will make the records available on special website.  Since names have not been indexed, you can only locate the record by searching for the enumeration district in which the person resided in 1940.  If you don't know an address, NARA suggests looking at old phone books or using an enumeration district database for the 1930 Census.  This information is available on NARA guide to finding the enumeration district.  By playing around with it, we discovered that the best place to start is to search in the maps file only at http://research.archives.gov/description/821491.  Enter a place or county name AND "enumeration" to find maps.  Results can be narrowed to the 1940 census by using the facets on the left side.  By looking at the maps, you can zoom in to identify the district number.    Will this work?  All will be revealed on April 2nd.    In the meantime, you find additional information on the Census on our subject guide to finding names and data from the Census.

Get ready to visit the 1940 Census at http://www.1940census.archives.gov/ on April 2nd. 






Posted by Margaret Jobe at 9:00 AM
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Monday, February 20, 2012

Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports

Congressional Research Service (CRS) is a research agency of Congress and writes reports at Congress' request. These short reports (usually 10-40 pages long) cover recent topics of concern. This month brings us reports on the budget, foreign relations, military issues, and much more. Although these reports are in the public domain, there is no central database available to the public. To get a copy of a CRS report, you can request it from your senator or representative. These reports were discovered by  Secrecy News:
Interested in historical CRS reports? If you are here at the Boulder campus, check out the  Congressional database, which has reports dating back to 1916.

Not on campus but still want access to additional reports? The library has a guide linking to various additional sources of CRS reports. 
Posted by Jennie at 9:57 AM
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Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Eyes on the Economy

The state of the economy is one of the key issues during this election cycle.  Among the leading economic indicators are data produced by the Census Bureau and the Bureau of Labor Statistics.   The Census Bureau reports on international trade, wholesale trade, retail trade, manufacturing, construction, home ownership, new residential sales and more.  Data and a calendar of future Census releases are in the Economic Briefing Room.  The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) gathers and publishes data on the consumer price index, employment cost, producer prices, earnings and employment, productivity, and U.S. import and export prices.   The BLS site is so huge and so complex that it's probably best to start on the News Releases page.

Economic Indicators from the Census Bureau
The Conference Board also produces statistics that are widely-cited including the Leading Economic Indicators Index and the Consumer Confidence Index.  According to the Conference Board, a composite index is powerful because it is "constructed to summarize and reveal common turning point patterns in economic data in a clearer and more convincing manner...."  Based on the latest numbers from 2011 we can be "cautiously" optimistic for the first half of 2012.

The Government Information Library has links for additional resources on its Business and Economics pages.  Check it out.
Posted by Margaret Jobe at 9:14 AM
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Wednesday, February 01, 2012

Government Accountability Office (GAO) Reports and Releases

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) which is often called the investigative arm of Congress. This month brings us publications from GAO investigating transportation, defense, banking, and many other issues. If you would like to know more about GAO, check out the library's guide.

Reports
Testimony
  • Arlington National Cemetery: Actions Taken and Steps Remaining to Address Contracting and Management Challenges, by Brian J. Lepore, director, defense capabilities and management, and Belva M. Martin, director, acquisition and sourcing management, before the Ad Hoc Subcommittee on Contracting Oversight, Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, GAO-12-374T, January 25.
    http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-12-374T
    http://www.gao.gov/assets/590/587928.pdf
  • Department of Energy: Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy Could Improve Its Collection of Information from Applications, by Frank Rusco, Director, National Resources and Environment, before the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology: Investigations and Oversight Subcommittee. GAO-12-407T, January 24.
    http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-12-407T  
Correspondence
Special Publication
Posted by Jennie at 9:24 AM
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