This is a quick reference for finding grey literature in economics and business fields.
A grey area
Grey literature often requires searching in a range of sources, depending on the type of resource you are trying to find.
There may be resources beyond this guide that are useful for your topic area.
Consider the organisations, departments or groups that would be publishing information related to your field.
Library databases
Grey literature can be found in subscription databases in the form of working papers, statistics, company annual reports, conference proceedings and theses. Include library database searches as part of a mixed approach when researching to capture a variety of publications.
Some useful databases for business research include:
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IMF eLibrary data This link opens in a new windowMacroeconomic statistics for over 200 countries. Data reports for each country include: Exports & Imports, Fiscal Overview and Key Indicators. 1972+
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OECD publications This link opens in a new windowBrowse statistics by theme or country or search for specific data by selecting the Statistics tab from the home page.
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Business source premier via EBSCO This link opens in a new windowUnder publication type, there are many types of documents such as working papers and conference proceedings that can be selected.
Other grey literature resources
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The TreasuryCovers policy publications and reviews by the treasury department on a range of issues including the economy and international economic policy.
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Department of FinanceDocuments on the Commonwealth Budget and Economic and Fiscal Outlooks
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Office of the Chief EconomistPart of the Department of Industry, Innovation and Science, the Office of the Chief Economist includes analysis and data.
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Australian Bureau of StatisticsThe ABS produces a range of statistics on National and International Accounts, Consumption and investment, Production, Prices, Incomes and Financial Markets.
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Productivity CommissionProvides quality, independent advice and information to governments. Browse the Research section for all their publications.
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EconPapersThe world's largest collection of on-line Economics working papers, journal articles and software.
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EconStorOpen access repository in Economics including working papers and conference proceedings as well as journal articles.
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IDEAS (Research Papers in Economics)Freely available research papers dedicated to Economics. Based on RePEc, this source provides access to over 2,100,000 items of research, including over 1,900,000 papers in full text.
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The Economic Society of Australia (ESA)The Society publishes journals (like the Economic Record and Economic Papers); promotes economic debate in a variety of forums (e.g. the Eminent Speaker Series), and holds conferences and seminars to encourage economic thought.
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Institute for International Economics (IIE)International economic policy research by the Institute’s 50+ internationally recognized experts
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Reserve Bank of AustraliaAs Australia’s Central Bank, the Reserve Bank of Australia produces a range of economics publications including Research Discussion Papers focussing on longer-term economic policy issues, and publications assessing current and future economic and financial conditions written by economic experts.
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SSRN: Social Science Research NetworkOpen access repository for research and working papers.
Select Browse>>Economics Research Network to find research, policy and Economics conference proceedings. -
IDEASOpen access database dedicated to Economics with working papers and journal articles.
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Analysis & Policy Observatory (APO)Current and historical policy and reports.
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World Bank: Open Knowledge RepositoryOpen access reports from the World Bank. Includes Technical papers and a range of studies covering economic and socioeconomic research.
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Wharton Financial Institutions Center Working PapersWhite papers from leading and emerging scholars with relevance to financial policy and regulation.
Tip: Make Google search smarter
Google advanced search allows you to search by domain, file type, and other beneficial limits for searching grey literature.
For example, to find grey literature available from Australian government websites in PDF format:
- Enter relevant keywords for your topic
- Then add .gov.au to the domain field and select the pdf file type.
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