Econometrics is the application of
mathematics,
statistical methods, and
computer science, 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 Pawel Ciompa in 1910.
Ragnar Frisch is credited with coining the term in the sense in which it is used today.