Research in economics comprises many different fields, such as development economics, public economics, labour economics, macroeconomics and political economy. To answer key questions on the workings of the economy, researchers in economics use theoretical and empirical models to study, e.g., the impact of economic policy, by analysing how a certain policy measure affects individual decisions and behaviour.
Because of the complexity of the economy, researchers in economics use theoretical, mathematical models to understand reality and focus on a specific issue. To understand economic data, be able to interpret theoretical models, test theoretical predictions and identify causal relationships, researchers also use empirical approaches and models. Empirically-oriented researchers often use large datasets containing detailed information on a great number of individuals or firms and, in this respect, techniques related to Big Data and Machine Learning analysis have become highly influential in recent years.
