The International Financial Statistics database is produced by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which has produced tables of financial statistics on countries since 1948. The original format of these tables was (and still is) a print version that includes a yearbook and monthly financial data on over 124 countries. In the early 1990s, the IMF began to take advantage of the Internet and the possibilities this medium offered. The data and searching were modelled after a CD‐ROM product that IMF had produced. Today’s Internet version, the International Financial Statistics Browser, displays the data collected by the IMF in a dynamic format.
The International Financial Statistics database covers over 200 countries and aggregate areas and offers impressive current and historical coverage of financial information. Many of the tables retrieve data from 1945 to the present. Data are updated monthly, which provides researchers with excellent material for analyzing the economic situation of a country or a specific series.
The database screens use frames, which organizes the information in a logical manner, but is difficult to navigate for persons that have visual disabilities. Because this is such a large database that can produce many tables, viewing each screen can be slow for dial‐up systems. A fast, dedicated line to the Internet would be optimal for analyzing the data. The opening screen shows three tabs: “Browse”, “Options”, and “Search”. The “Browse” function contains data that is divided into four sections: “Country tables”, “World tables”, “Commodity prices” and “Economic concept views”. Each of these major sections is set up in a tree structure, allowing users to refine their search and build tables to meet research requirements. The “Country tables” allow the selection of only one country at a time and then matching that country with economic parameters. The “World tables” are set up in a subject access manner: researchers can select one specific subject and then match this with several countries. The “Commodity prices” tables are also subject‐arranged. The “Economic concept view” has tables that indicate population figures, banking/financial institution figures, and data that help provide an insight into the economic climate of a country.
Connected to the “Browse” function is the tab that links to “Options”. This is a powerful tool that can be used to customize a search and determine the way the material is presented. It is possible to change the presentation from the traditional rows to a transposed view that changes the series orientation to appear in columns. This can make for easier printing, and it is a helpful display if one has changed the default search parameters to include more dates and data. The information can be displayed in a variety of ways: as an HTML file, Excel spreadsheet, comma‐separated value file or tab‐delimited file.
Another feature in the “Options” section is the ability to allow researchers to establish an alert service. This allows users to continue to receive information on a timely basis. The third tab included a “Search” module, but this did not perform consistently. One would be better served using the “Browse” and “Options” functions. If researchers do not want to select data to make a customized table, the IFS system allows for tables to be viewed in Adobe Acrobat’s PDF format. This format replicates the data found in the print version, International Financial Statistics Yearbook.
Navigating this database takes some time in order to understand the types of tables, the ways to narrow searches and the different display formats. The help manual is excellent for learning about the nuts and bolts of the browsing techniques. However, the database could use a preface similar to the introductory section in the print version. In the print version of the International Financial Statistics Yearbook, the definitions of terms are well‐written, and in‐depth explanations on the tables and their components are very helpful.
This database compares very favourably with Euromonitor’s World Marketing Data and Statistics database. The Euromonitor database uses many of the statistics from the IMF but displays the information in a different format. There were several duplicate efforts in these databases. The cost of subscribing to the databases leads to some interesting patterns for a library selector to consider. The International Financial Statistics browser allows subscriptions for academic institutions to be customized for different usage patterns. This could make the cost of the IMF database less than or equal to the cost of the Euromonitor database. International Financial Statistics is highly recommended for all libraries that serve populations interested in global business and international financial and economic issues.
