EconLit
The American Economic Association's authoritative bibliographic database for economics research.
OVERVIEW
What is EconLit?
EconLit is the American Economic Association's bibliographic database covering all areas of economic research. It indexes over 1.8 million records from 1886 to the present, including journal articles, books, working papers, and dissertations from over 1,200 economics journals worldwide. EconLit uses the JEL (Journal of Economic Literature) classification system to organize content by topic, making it easy to find research on specific economic subfields. Available primarily through institutional subscriptions via EBSCO and ProQuest, it is the gold-standard discovery tool for economics researchers.
KEY FEATURES
What EconLit does well
Economics Specialist
The most comprehensive bibliographic database focused exclusively on economics research.
JEL Classification
Industry-standard JEL codes organize content by precise economic subfield.
1886+ Coverage
Over 130 years of economics literature, from foundational works to current research.
Global Coverage
Indexes economics journals from 1,200+ publishers worldwide.
Working Papers
Includes NBER, IMF, World Bank, and other key working paper series.
AEA Authority
Curated by the American Economic Association. The definitive economics body.
Subjects Covered
Media included
Document and content types you can find in EconLit.
- Journal articles
- Books / book chapters
- Theses & dissertations
- Reports / white papers
TOP TOOL COMPARISONS
EconLit Alternatives
| Tool | Coverage | Subjects Covered | Open Access / Pricing | Citation Features | One-line Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EconLit | 1,800,000 | Business & Economics | No · Paid | JEL classification, cited reference search via host platforms | The American Economic Association's authoritative bibliographic database for economics research. |
 RePEc | 4,600,000 | Business & Economics | Yes · Free | CitEc citation analysis, IDEAS rankings | The free, open economics research database. Like arXiv for economics, with 4.6M+ working papers and articles. |
 SSRN | 1,400,000 | Social Sciences, Arts & Humanities, Business & Economics... | Yes · Free | Download counts, abstract views (alternative metrics) | Elsevier's free preprint repository for social sciences, economics, and law. Like arXiv for the social sciences. |
 Business Source Complete | 4,000,000 | Business & Economics | No · Paid | Cited references search, citation export | EBSCO's flagship business database. Full-text journals plus industry reports, SWOTs, and company profiles. |
 Scopus | 102,600,000 | Multidisciplinary | No · Paid | Citation tracking, h-index, CiteScore, cited reference search | Gold-standard subscription database for citation analysis and research evaluation across all sciences. |
 Web of Science | 240,000,000 | Multidisciplinary | No · Paid | Citation index, Journal Impact Factor, cited reference search | Best for systematic reviews and bibliometric research with deep historical citation coverage back to 1900. |
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