Economic and demographic databases
Introduction to the economic and demographic resources at the University of Manchester Library.
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Contents
Introduction
In this blog post we will look at a number of useful databases you can search for economic and demographic data that you can incorporate into your studies.
What is economic and demographic information?
The University of Manchester Library provides you with access to a wide range of databases where you access economic and demographic information.
Economic information such as GDP, Manufacturing Production indexes or Productivity are available for a wide range of countries.
If you need to find information about population in the areas of age, race or sex then you are looking for demographic information: this can include statistical data on employment rates, income, birth and deaths, education and a lot more. Demographic data is used by government bodies to determine policy development and businesses to research their markets.
Why is this useful?
An essential key to the success of any business is understanding what the consumer wants and the ways in which they access a businesses products.
If we think about it in another way, it’s the ‘why’ they consume the products and also ‘how’ they access the products and ‘how’ the business can increase the amount they consume.
Economic and demographic data can be used to analyse the characteristics of the consumers to improve a businesses market share.
How to access the information?
There are two quick ways to access economic and demographic information via the Data and Statistics subject guide or the Business and Management subject guide. You can browse in either of these guides for the databases that cover economic and demographic data analysis.
The databases the Library subscribes to are commercial products. The information they contain will not be available through a Google Scholar search or a general internet search.
If for example you were looking for information about the UK Housing market, you could use start by searching within Statista or Passport databases. However these databases are not the only resources available to you, look further. Other useful subject resources on the business subject pages include the UK Data service.
In these resources you will find economic and demographic data and analysis on the UK housing market presented in a range of different formats e.g. reports, infographics, dossiers and charts.
Tip: If you need some help with deciding which database to use or how to get the best out of the databases then the University of Manchester Library provides you with a range of ways to get help and support with getting your search off to a good start.
In the next section we will look at a number of popular databases in more detail.
Statista
The first database that we are going to look at is Statista, which provides users with access to quantitative data on media, business, finance, politics and a wide variety of other areas of interest on markets. Its coverage ranges from the number of active users of Facebook 2008–2020 to the global prices you’d pay to eat a Big Mac!
In addition to statistics, the database also provides detailed quantitative analysis of worldwide markets such as; digital, technology and advertising. Using Statista to find this information is a great first step but what do you actually get in this analysis?
Lets focus on one one particular topic and see what we could find in Statista that you could use it in your coursework:
‘I need data and analysis on the housing market in the UK’
Searching for “housing market” bought up a wide range of high quality resources as shown in the screenshot below.
Statista search for housing market
In the left hand menu the search results cover:
- Statistics — this includes on rental prices, social housing vacancies, housing concerns etc
- Forecasts & surveys — this drills down into the topic to specifics relating to housing — it covers revenue of community housing services, the household cleaners market, polishes, room scents.
- Topics — housing markets across the world, mortgages, student housing etc.
- Dossiers — If we check out the dossier for the Housing market in the UK we get both the detailed statistics AND the analysis of the sector from house construction, prices, finance and the rental market. This will provide you with the information that you need in order to answer a question on this topic. There is also a lot of related information in Statista about the housing market that you can find.
Tip: In the left hand menu you can easily limit the number of results by unticking the type of result that you are not interested in e.g. infographics.
Statista is also a useful database for sourcing demographic information. I searched for UK demographic analysis and located the “Demographics of the UK” dossier — this covered everything from population, births/deaths and regional data.
Passport
Another databases that you may use for retrieving economic and demographic data is Passport . Passport is an online market research tool which monitors industry trends and provides strategic analysis, market size and market share information covering over 350 markets and 850 cities. Passport also has the world’s most comprehensive research on the luxury goods industry. They monitor and analyse industry trends in personal goods globally, including in-depth data on market share and market size. Also, what sets this database apart from other resources is its focus on the international markets. Using Passport you will be able to locate market intelligence and statistical data analysis from over 200 countries.
Tip: The University of Manchester Library subscription provides you with access to information about industries (e.g. Luxury goods), economies (e.g. GDP), consumers (e.g. household income) and also profiles of leading international companies.
Using Passport
Passport uses a menu driven search interface which makes it easy to select the industry and country you are interested in, then view a range of relevant statistical data and market analysis reports.
In this example we are going to search for:
“How has Brexit impacted the financial markets in the UK?”
Using Passport it is easy to carry out a quick search from the database homepage but you will notice right away that if you search for Brexit there is nothing under the ‘STATISTICS’ heading, you need to click on ‘ANALYSIS’ to access the ‘Quarterly Brexit Report’ and the sector specific reports on areas such as packaged food, tourism, soft drinks. Scroll down the list of reports to find one how the UK business environment will compare to the EU post Brexit which includes market capitalisation, stocks traded in the top European countries, regulatory information etc.
Passport homepage: search results for Brexit
Searching for information on how Brexit is impacting the UK economy there is a report which covers the key areas around the topic such as the economy, finance & trade.
To download the report:
- Go to the Passport homepage.
- From the top right menu bar select ‘Economies’ and scroll down to ‘Economy, Finance & Trade’.
- Scroll down to the ‘Country Reports’ section and select ‘Economy, Finance and Trade’ and click ‘Go’.
Statista-Country Reports.
4. In the left hand menu select the drop down arrow to download.
Statista download image.
The report covers the uncertainty surrounding Brexit, a SWOT analysis of the UK, the current state of the economic landscape and much more — if you are looking for any kind of detailed financial analysis to use in your coursework then Passport should be one of your go to databases.
Tip: remember that Statista & Passport are only two examples of key databases that you can use for your research — through the Library you can access a whole range of high quality information sources to support your studies here at Manchester.
Other key economic & demographic sources
Further support and related topic
- Specialist Library Support — workshops and online tutorials
- FAQs: The Library has produced a database of frequently asked questions (as part of our Ask an Expert service) which is well worth consulting. If you are finding something difficult, there is a good chance another student has too, and we add to this database regularly throughout the academic year.
Further support for these databases
Statista:
- Access Statista: University username and password required off campus.
- Getting started with Statista: Use this for an introduction to the database and its various functions.
- Tips for better search results in Statista : Use this guide to get advice on how you can filter and narrow your searches to get access to the data you really need.
Passport:
- Passport user guide: This user guide will show you how to effectively use the menu driven search interface, and manipulate and re-organise any relevant data that you find.
- Passport video guides: A series of useful video guides, demonstrating how various users of passport have used the database to research a number of different industries and topics.
