Preface to the Handbook

Econometrics is a field that uses economic theory and statistical methods to address empirical problems in economics. It is a tool for empirical discovery and policy analysis. The chapters in the book Handbook of Econometrics, Volume 6A embody this vision, and either implement it directly or provide the tools for doing so. This vision is not shared by those who view econometrics as a branch of statistics rather than as a distinct field of knowledge that designs methods of inference from data based on models of human choice behavior and social interactions. All of the essays in this volume offer guidance to the practitioner on how to apply the methods they discuss to interpret economic data. The econometrics of industrial organization (IO) is another vibrant area of applied econometrics. Scholars in the field of IO have embraced econometrics. The resulting symbiosis between theory and practice is a paragon for econometric research. Modern developments in game theory have been incorporated in econometric models that enrich both theory and empirical analysis.