The International Monetary Fund's International Financial Statistics Database

摘要

IMF's IFS database provides electronic access to the statistical information contained in the IFS print publications. The data are accessible through other databases as mentioned earlier, and also via the IMF in CD-ROM format. The advantage of electronic access through this platform is that one can download data to, for example, an Excel spreadsheet and create files comparing data series. Functionality and ease of use of the IMF database is another matter. This is not an intuitive resource. It is clunky, and no upgrades to the interface have been made in the past several years; and, according to the IMF support staff, none are planned. IMF provides a significant amount of documentation, and their video tutorials are very helpful. Additionally, IMF support staff responded within several hours of my e-mail inquiry regarding their plans for future interface upgrades. So though the IMF has not enhanced the interface, at some level they are responsive to a user's need for assistance. Also note that IFS data is available through several third-party platforms and may be preferable to users because these platforms have more intuitive interfaces. In summary, the IFS data is extensive, and though their database platform provides a less than ideal interface, the electronic presentation of the data is advantageous to researchers and students who prefer or need data in this format.