The Global Financial Data or (GFDatabase) offers extensive time series data with a deep historical archive. The main coverage is economics and financial markets data, some of which goes back as much as three hundred years.
Global Financial Database is comprised of 10 databases as follows: (1) Asset Allocation Database with historical total return indices for stocks, bonds and bills for fifty countries, (2) Commodities database with historical data on 100 different commodities, (3) Economic Database (4) Equity database current and historical data series, (5) Fixed income including current and historical markets, (6) Exchange rates going back to 1590, (7) Development Database with 50 years of data on non-economic variables (8) Government and Debt (9) International Trade and (10) National Accounts with extensive data, some going back to the 1800s on GDP and its components.
You can find the database here: http://www.library.yorku.ca/e/resolver/id/2434743
New users should click on the LOGIN NEW MEMBER link at top of page to create a username. GFD will issue a password for full access to product. Note that access is available both on and off-campus.
If usage is strong, and faculty and student interest is solid, then a case to continue access beyond this point should be easy to make to the library administration.
Peter F. Bronfman Business Library
SSB, York University