EconLit review
A focused economics index with broad source coverage and library-dependent full text.
Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026
EconLit is the American Economic Association’s bibliographic database for economics literature. It is designed for scholars, academic libraries, and research institutions that need structured discovery across peer-reviewed journal articles, books, book reviews, PhD dissertations, working papers, collective-volume articles, and conference proceedings. Coverage spans more than 140 years, while records are updated weekly and linked to full text through library holdings or optional subscriptions.
Its strongest fit is detailed economics literature searching. Users can search by bibliographic fields, document type, keywords, classifications, and geographic descriptors, making it suitable for literature reviews, subject research, and institutionally supported academic workflows. The breadth of indexed content also helps researchers look beyond journal articles to dissertations, working papers, books, reviews, and proceedings. EconLit is delivered through EBSCO, ProQuest, and Ovid, so its practical fit depends on which provider and access package a library or research institution uses.
The main trade-off is the separation between discovery and full-text access. EconLit records can link to full text through library holdings or optional full-text subscriptions, but access depends on the participating provider and subscription arrangement. Pricing is supplied through EBSCO, ProQuest, and Ovid, with a contact-sales model rather than a public self-serve plan. Choose EconLit for focused, fielded research across economics literature; consider another database when freely available access or direct full-text coverage is the primary requirement.
EconLit pros and cons
- Where it wins
- Indexes journals, books, dissertations, working papers, and proceedings
- Weekly updates with professionally classified records
- Detailed searching across fields, types, keywords, and classifications
- Where it doesn't
- Full-text access depends on library holdings or optional subscriptions
- Pricing is handled through providers rather than a public plan
- Available through the web only
EconLit fact sheet, pricing and score →
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