What Is It I Study Again?

When introduced to new people, I am usually asked what I study. And even after eight months I still relish the awkward pause that inevitably follows my answer, "econometrics", as people struggle to think of something they can say about econometrics or at least remember what it is.

So what is it? I am not completely convinced I know the answer definitively myself. It is in a fuzzy area between economics and statistics. And I'm maybe not alone in note knowing exactly where the boundaries lie: I recently was pointed to an interesting discussion about the difference between econometrics and applied statistics.

Actually, reading this, I think my taste and interests are probably more in line with the statisticians than the econometricians.