Market Research: Doing Your Homework on Global Markets

by Cory Churches
Export America

Economic Statistics
U.S. Census Bureau
The Census Bureau provides a myriad of data on domestic activities, and it releases data on international trade in goods and services, trade balances by country, and state exports. A link to international statistical agencies at www.census.gov/main/www/stat_int.html provides similar information about other countries.
www.census.gov/foreign-trade/www/index.html

World Bank
The World Bank provides a wealth of data. A segment of the World Development Indicators (WDI) database is accessible free of charge. The data query offers a five-year, 54-indicator segment of the full WDI. The full WDI and Global Development Finance data are available via a paid subscription.
www.worldbank.org

Export Statistics Express
Part of the International Trade Administration’s Office of Trade and Economic Analysis, the Export Statistics Express (ESE) is a mapping program that lets users choose parameters, such as global distribution of U.S. exports, state-by-state exports to regions, and product exports to a country or region. Results are displayed in a color-coded map as well as a downloadable table.
http://ese.export.gov/ITA2002/Intro_NEW.htm

World Economic Forum
The WEF is a global organization, which brings together the “world’s leadership team.” The WEF publishes a number of comprehensive analyses, the most prominent of which is its annual Global Competitiveness Report.
www.weforum.org

Country Commercial Guides
The U.S. Department of Commerce and U.S. State Department prepare a Country Commercial Guide for every country in which the United States has diplomatic representation. These annual guides contain economic, political, and commercial information, and they are written for U.S. businesses. Each guide contains the same chapter and appendix format, which include topics such as marketing, trade regulations, investment climate, and business travel.
www.usatrade.gov/website/ccg.nsf

Export.gov
Part of the export promotion services that the federal government provides to U.S. companies, this site allows firms to search for targeted market research by company, industry, or date. Users can also sign up to receive new research automatically via e-mail. Visit the Web site and follow the links to “Country and Industry Market Research.”
http://export.gov

Industry Data
The International Trade Data Network
The ITDN of Bryant College is a Web-accessible application, providing access to numerous databases that assist companies in researching and developing international marketing strategies.
www.itdn.net

Industry Research Desk
This is an excellent tool for business research on the Internet. This site, created by researcher Gary Polson, has a step-by-step guide that shows visitors exactly how to find sources, both in print and on-line. He shows you information-rich sites that offer the inside scoop on companies and industries worldwide. The site also has links to the best search engines, address and phone number finders, package tracking sites, maps, and more.
www.virtualpet.com/industry

General Resources
Academic Info Area and Country Studies Gateway
This includes links to sites about countries and regions, including culture, business, politics, entertain-ment, news, sports, and other topics.
www.academicinfo.net/subarea.html

The Bag Lady Country Library
The library has information about 197 U.N. member countries, including populations, cultures, business customs, currencies, shopping habits, trade, and country and embassy contacts.
www.the-bag-lady.co.uk/countries/libsearch.asp

Economist Country Briefings
These are profiles of more than 60 countries. The information includes articles from The Economist, back-ground profiles, Economist Intelligence Unit forecasts and statistics, market and currency updates, news headlines, and links.
www.economist.com/countries

eCountries.com
This site offers news, analysis, and research on global political, economic, and business developments.
www.ecountries.com

Getting through Customs
The site has articles on global business practices and cultural information compiled from various business publications.
www.getcustoms.com/omnibus.html

Interex
This site offers 12,000 pages of free market information, 100 new “trends and opportunities” each week, and more than 50 helpful services to assist with international business operations.
www.interex.be

MSU Global Access
This is an annotated collection of more than 4,000 sites about regions and people of the world. It offers searches by country, theme (environment, development, travel, etc.) constituency (teachers, businesspeople, etc.), resource type (maps, news sources, study abroad programs), language, and keyword.
www.msuglobalaccess.net

The World Factbook
This CIA publication covers 264 nations, dependent areas, and other entities. It gives statistical details, ranging from territorial areas to infant mortality rates. Brief statements on other topics, such as an overview of a nation’s economy and telecommunications infrastructure, are interspersed with data.
www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/index.html

World Bank Country Profiles
These are market analyses and descriptions of more than 100 developing economies.
www.worldbank.org/html/extdr/regions.htm

WWW Virtual Library: International Affairs Resources
This site has more than 2,400 annotated links regarding a wide range of topics in international affairs, international studies, and international relations.
www.etown.edu/vl