Research Guides: Public Policy: Public Policy Resources

Public policy databases

Policy Commons
Search through millions of documents produced by think tanks, IGOs and NGOs, research centers, federal, local and state governments, and more.
Overton.io
Database containing policy documents, guidelines, think tank publications, and working papers.

CIAO
Full text of conference proceedings, think tank articles, some journals, and working papers on international affairs.

NBER Working Paper Series
View and download the full-text of the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) Working Papers.

CGS - Policy Archive
Older (prior to 2011) documents produced by "think tanks" (non-profit research organizations) in the United States. From the Center for Governmental Studies, which closed in 2011.

IGOs (International Government Organizations)

International government organizations (IGOs) are helpful sources of information on policy topics both in the U.S. and in other countries

Finding NGO Publications
OECD Data
Provides various statistics for OECD member countries, related to energy, technology, trade, leading economic indicators, agriculture, education, health, and social expenditures
OECD Publications
Provides all the publications and datasets released by OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development), International Energy Agency (IEA), Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA), OECD Development Centre, PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment), and International Transport Forum (ITF).
United Nations research guide
World Bank Documents and Reports (D&R)
The World Bank's official documents and reports from 1946 to the present are available. All content is open to the public.

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The D&R site contains final and official documents and reports, including:

Board Documents (items concerning meetings of the Executive Directors);
Country Focus (strategic priorities and directions for lending activities);
Economic and Sector Work (in-depth background studies);
Project Documents (loan/credit-related documents released to the public according to the project cycle, including legal agreements);
Publications and Research (formal publications, working papers, and informal series from departments around the WBG).
If you still can't find what you want, please get in touch using the following email [documents@worldbank.org].
World Bank Open Knowledge Repository (OKR)
The World Bank Open Knowledge Repository (OKR) is the Bank’s official open-access repository for its research outputs and knowledge products.
All journal articles published by WB will be available after the publisher's embargo. All contents are open to the public.

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The OKR contains thousands of research works, including:
World Bank Group Annual Reports and Independent Evaluation Studies
Books published by the World Bank Group, including flagship publications, academic books, and practitioner volumes;
All World Development Reports (WDRs) plus recent WDR background papers;
Journal articles published in World Bank Economic Review (WBER) and World Bank Research Observer (WBRO), two journals published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the World Bank;
Accepted manuscripts of Bank-authored journal articles from selected external publishers (after an embargo period if applicable);
Metadata and links to Bank-authored external journal articles;
Serial publications (typically data-intensive outlook reports);
Policy Research Working Papers (PRWP)—a series of papers that disseminate findings of work in progress to encourage the exchange of ideas about development issues;
Selected other papers of high research quality;
Economic and Sector Work (ESW) studies are a series of analytical reports prepared by bank staff. ESWs gather and evaluate information about a country’s economy and/or a specific sector;
Knowledge Notes, providing short briefs that capture lessons of experience from Bank operations and research;
The latest Country Opinion Surveys were done in client countries to provide feedback on World Bank Group activities.
Selected translated titles.
For more information, see Frequently Asked Questions; or e-mail us at okr@worldbank.org.

Academic Databases (journal articles and more)

The library offers hundreds of subject or disciplinary databases that may be helpful for policy topics. For example, if you are researching affordable housing, history, sociology, or urban planning databases may all be relevant.

Public Affairs Index

PAIS: Public Affairs Information Service
Over 450,000 journal articles, books, and other documents covering public affairs worldwide. Coverage begins in 1972. Printed version collection is in the Graduate Library stacks as Z 7163 .P98. UM users only.
Political Science Complete
PSC provides indexing and abstracts for 2900 journals,and full-text articles for 500 top-ranked scholarly journals. Also includes reference works and professional conference papers. Its coverage consists of topics such as law and legislation, comparative politics, political theory, international relations, humanitarian issues, and non-governmental organizations.
The CEPR Discussion paper Series
Major Topics of this journal are development economics, economic history, financial economics, industrial organization, international macroeconomics, international trade and regional economics, labor economics, and public economics. U-M users only.
EconLit
EconLit contains abstracts of journal articles, dissertations, books, working papers, etc. in the field of economics, published from 1969 to the present. Limited to authorized UM users.

Social Science Research Network
A repository of research in the areas of accounting, economics, Latin America, and legal scholarship.

Google Scholar (with MGet It Links)
The Google Scholar search engine that searches for scholarly documents, with the added feature of MGet IT links from University of Michigan.

Sociological Abstracts
Provides access to the international literature in sociology and related disciplines. Covers 1800+ journals, back to 1952.

JSTOR
Provides full-text access to the archives of core scholarly journals in the arts, humanities, social sciences and science.
Project MUSE
Full-text access to over 100 scholarly journals in the arts and humanities, social sciences and mathematics published by Johns Hopkins University Press and other university presses (Duke, Hawaii, Indiana, MIT, Penn State, etc.).
Public Administration Abstracts
Journal and magazine index of areas related to public administration, including public administration research, theory, and other areas of key relevance to the discipline. UM User Only.

Academic Journals

These subscription journals are accessible to UM users only

Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory (JPART)
Serves as a bridge between public administration and public management scholarship on the one hand and public policy studies on the other. Its multidisciplinary aim is to advance the organizational, administrative, and policy sciences as they apply to government and governance.
Public Administration Review (PAR)
Bi-monthly professional journal. Focuses on public administration, including the public sector and public sector management. Articles identify and analyze current trends, and provide a factual basis for decision making.
Journal of Policy Analysis and Management (JPAM)
Focused on topics with regard to policy analysis, public management, economics, policy research, program evaluation, policy making, and public management reform.
Governance
Focuses on topics related to executive politics, public policy, administration, and the organization of state. It also emphasizes international or comparative approach to public policy and administration.
Climate Policy
Focuses on topics with regard to environmental policy, climate change, rural development, and economic models.
Politics & Society (P&S)
Focuses on the theory of the state, class analysis, politics of gender, methodological individualism and rational choice, and the future of capitalism and socialism
Journal of Social Policy
Focuses on articles which seek to contribute to debates on the future direction of social policy, to present new empirical data, to advance theories, or to analyse issues in the making and implementation of social policies.
Journal of European Social Policy
Publish articles quarterly on all aspects of social policy in Europe, including ageing, pensions, and social security, poverty and social exclusion, education, training and labor market policies, family policies, health and social care services, gender, migration, privatization and Europeanization.
Journal of Social Issues
Focuses on a single topic-recent issues, for example, have addressed poverty, housing and health; privacy as a social and psychological concern; youth and violence; and the impact social class on education.
Philosophy and Public Affairs
Focuses on philosophical discussion of substantive legal, social, and political problems.
Policy Studies Journal
Focuses on the theoretically and empirically grounded research on policy process and policy analysis.
Public Administration
Focuses on public administration, public policy and public management. A high percentage of articles are sourced from the enlarging Europe and cover all aspects of West and East European public administration.
Journal of Public Policy
Interdisciplinary, global focus.

Last Updated: Jun 27, 2025 4:06 PM

Subjects: Government, Politics & Law, Social Sciences