Preface to the handbook

Econometrics, the offspring of Statistics and Economics, is a science which investigates methods for analyzing economic data and drawing economic inferences from those data. This science is taught in almost every graduate program as it is fundamental to the way economists measure economies and evaluate policies. Fortunately for those now studying econometrics as well as those teaching and using it, the field is very rapidly changing with many exciting new developments. Unfortunately, many of these are not yet integrated into textbooks and therefore must be culled from conflicting Journal articles and discussion papers.