What is "econometrics"

econometrics \e*con`o*met"rics\ ([-e]*k[o^]n`[-o]*m[e^]t"r[i^]ks), n. the application of mathematics and statistics to the study of economic and financial data.

n. (context economics English) The branch of economics that applies statistics to the empirical study of economic theories and relationships.

n. the application of mathematics and statistics to the study of economic and financial data

Econometrics is the application of statistical methods to economic data and is described as the branch of economics that aims to give empirical content to economic relations. More precisely, it is "the quantitative analysis of actual economic phenomena based on the concurrent development of theory and observation, related by appropriate methods of inference." An introductory economics textbook describes econometrics as allowing economists "to sift through mountains of data to extract simple relationships." The first known use of the term "econometrics" (in cognate form) was by Polish economist Paweł Ciompa in 1910. Ragnar Frisch is credited with coining the term in the sense in which it is used today.