Data sources and interactive tools

Data sources and interactive tools

Here are some recommended data portals for students and other researchers.

We have tried to categorize these by their primary topic, although there is obviously a very large degree of overlap. Likewise, it will often be easier to find what you are looking for by starting with the more general websites.

The majority of of the below datasets are available free of charge to the general public. Beyond this, NHH students are highly encouraged to consult the library’s databases.

Students can also get access Thomson Reuters Datastream. Send a request to helpdesk@nhh.no

If you have suggestions for relevant data resources that aren’t shown here, please email enehub@nhh.no.

  • Agriculture, Commodities, Financial and other tradeables

    Agriculture, Commodities, Financial and other tradeables

    • Thomson Reuters Datastream: Historical, global coverage of equities, stock markets, commodities, futures, currencies, options, bond markets, company financials, and economic data… some of which goes as as far back as 1973. Requires a subscription: As described above, NHH students can obtain access to Datastream through IT support.

    • Index Mundi: Free, central repository for a wealth of commodities data, ranging from agricultural goods to minerals to energy prices. In addition, the website has a great deal of information beyond this, including environmental quality indices, urbanisation measures, etc, etc. Data is usually sourced from various public agencies (World Bank, IEA, and so forth).

    • Bloomberg: Similar to Datastream, full analysis and access to historical data requires access to a Bloomberg Terminal, although there is still quite a bit that you can do on the website for free.

    • ICE: Again, pretty similar to the Datatstream and Bloomberg above. Subs required, but contains some publicly available information.

    • Norwegian Petroleum Directorate: Information on production rates, reserves, investment costs, etc.

    • Yahoo! Finance: Lastly, you can download a lot of financial data from Yahoo! for free, although there are some restrictions in terms of how far back the historical data extends through time.

  • Climate change data and Integrated Assessment Models (IAMs)

    Climate change data and Integrated Assessment Models (IAMs)

    • GISS Surface Temperature Analysis: One of the two major instrumental temperature records – along with the CRU below – that are commonly used in climate research. For example, you can find annual time series data for global surface (land and ocean) temperatures going back to 1880 here. GISS is a part of NASA.

    • Climate Research Unit: The University of East Anglia’s HadCRUT database is the other primary source for researchers interested in instrumental global and hemispheric temperature data.
    • BEST: The Berkeley Earth Surfaces Temperature project represents an attempt at independently assessing and evaluating global temperature data, stretching back to the mid-18th century. Students can find the summarised dataset of annual land temperatures (1750-present) , while the combined global land and ocean temperature record (1850-present).

    • IPCC/RCP database: Historical and projected data for all radiative forcings (i.e. stuff that affects the climate). This includes CO2, CH4 and other greenhouse gases, solar and volcanic activity, flourinated gases,  land use, etc., etc.. These are the compiled data used by the IPCC in constructing their Representative Concentration Pathways, so it makes for a really valuable dataset. After first registering for free on the website, you will be able to download historical data (1765-2005), as well the emissions forecast that the IPCC uses in its projections of future climate change (up to the year 2500).

    • Climate Wizard: Temperature and precipitation projections under different (IPCC) emissions scenarios. Produces interactive maps, while data values can also be downloaded up to a regional and even local area level. Annual, seasonal and monthly averages are all available.

    • DICE: Together with it’s regional counterpart (RICE), William Nordhaus‘ Dynamic Integrated model of Climate and the Economy  is arguably the most well-known of all IAMs. The source code for DICE is freely from the website and Nordhaus has (co-)written a helpful user’s manual for working with the latest version (DICE-2013), which also summarises it’s main conclusions. This could be read together with his 2008 book, A Question of Balance, on the major policy implications of earlier DICE models.

    • FUND: An IAM developed by Richard Tol and David Anthoff. Source code, user instructions and so forth are all available. It should also be said that Tol has written a textbook, Climate Economics, which is freely available on the web and has a host of supporting material (data, graphs, quizzes, etc).

    • PAGE: Developed by Chris Hope, the PAGE model was used by the Stern Review in calculating the economic costs of climate change. The documented linked to here is a technical description of the latest version (PAGE09). Hope has stated that his policy is to make the source code available to individual researchers upon request.

  • Econonmic indicators (General datasets)

    Econonmic indicators (General datasets)

    • FRED: The official data tool of the St Louis Federal Reserve. Although predominantly focused on the U.S., FRED also has a huge array of economic, energy and commodity data from various countries running over many decades. Excellent graphing tools are complemented by easily downloadable data.

    • Gapminder: The brainchild of Hans Rosling (of TED video fame), this is one of the best interactive data portals on the web. Playing with statistics can now actually be easy and fun. Although it has development at the heart of its origins, Gapminder also offers a wealth of data on topics specific to energy, environment (climate) and natural resources. Search by category or sub-category and then chart, download or watch data transform across regions and time horizons before your eyes.

    • Word Bank: The World Bank’s data centre has a slightly clunkier interface than FRED (above), but one is still able to analyse and chart a vast amount of data. Moreover, topics are arranged in pre-defined categories (and by country or region), which makes it easy to find data specific to agriculture, climate, development, energy and mining, etc.

    • Eurostat: Again, not the cleanest interface, but loads of data for cross-country comparison on topics ranging from agriculture and fisheries to finance to energy prices.

  • Electricity

    Electricity

    • NordPool: One of the world’s leading energy exchanges, NordPool serves the Nordic and Baltic countries. The excellent website allows users to track electricity flows and price changes in real time, while a ream of historical data is also available for download. [NOTE: NHH students and researchers who would like access to the full NordPool dataset should contact Johannes Mauritzen.]

    • EEX (see also www.epexspot.com): The European Energy Exchange (EEX) covers the major markets of central Europe – Germany, Austria, France and Switzerland – and is the largest power exchange on the continent. Contemporaneous market data can be viewed on the website for free, although historical data must be purchased (albeit at a reduced student fee).

  • Energy (general)

    Energy (general)

    • EIA data tool: A very good data tool from the U.S. Energy Information Agency (EIA). The default information setting is taken from their Annual Energy Outlook, with projections up to thirty years in the future. However, users can choose to incorporate data from a variety of publications and projects. The ability to construct and play with different scenarios (from projected economic growth to carbon taxes) makes for a lot of fun analysis. Moreover, the agency’s periodic reports, such as its International Energy Outlook, can be downloaded for free.

    • IEA data and statistics: While their website doesn’t quite have the functionality of the EIA (above), the International Energy Agency (IEA) is still an indispensable resource for anyone interested in energy. Students should also be able to download the IEA’s full annual World Energy Outlook for free at the OECD website.

    • B.P. Statistical Review: Another authoritative source for global energy statistics. In addition to the physical report, BP has also launched its own energy charting tool, which is simplified but still very good. The BPSR is especially useful for comparing energy prices (e.g. of natural gas) across regions.

  • Environment

    Environment

    • Environment.no: Official statistics from the Norwegian Environment Agency. Clean interface that allows for easy-to-find data.

    • UNEP: Lacks the functionality of other websites and interactive data tools, but a useful data source nonetheless. (Note: Much of the UNEP data is also available from the World Bank.)

  • Fisheries

    Fisheries

    • FAO FishStat: Downloadable software that enables access to (and analysis on) substantial global and regional datasets from the FAO’s Fisheries and Aquaculture Department.

    • FishPool: The world’s premier fish trading market, based in Bergen. Includes freely available information on forward prices.

    • ICES: Well indexed and user-friendly database managed by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea.

    • NOAA Fisheries: Easy to use interface with lots of information on U.S. fisheries.

    • Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries: Lots of statistics available from this national regulatory authority.

    • Norwegian Fishermen’s Sales Organisation: Prices info, etc. (In Norwegian.)

  • Shipping and Offshore rigs

    Shipping and Offshore rigs

    • NOTE: A lot of shipping data is proprietary (Clarksons, Fearnleys, etc.) and access is therefore limited. However, through a combination of university subscriptions and Professor Roar Os Ådland’s industry connections, NHH students interested in shipping should be able to gain access to data relatively easily. FFAs and time charter rates for all vessel types and sizes are available as are details on major shipping routes.

    • International Maritime Organisation (IMO): The IMO has a pretty nice page on the various data providers, including those mentioned above as well as some free sources (i.e. Eurostat).

    •  The Rig Zone: This is an offshore data provider, which offers a free service regarding all non-fixed offshore platforms. They do have a paid service as well, but luckily their site formatting is such that copying their free data from the web into an Excel spreadsheet is painless and fast. Data includes, contract rate, operator, manager, field, region, rig type, capabilities of each rig, and equipment used on each rig (mud pumps, risers, etc.). The same company runs a similar website on offshore project development. The major difference here is that fixed platform infrastructure will be accounted for, as the focus is on the stages of a project as opposed to rigs.