Applied economics is a term that refers to the application of economic theory and analysis.

While not a field of economics, it is typically characterized by the application of economic theory and econometrics to address practical issues in a range of fields including demographic economics, labour economics, business economics, industrial organization, development economics, education economics, health economics, monetary economics, public economics, and economic history. The process often involves a reduction in the level of abstraction of this core theory. There are a variety of approaches including not only empirical estimation using econometrics, input-output analysis or simulations but also case studies, historical analogy and so-called common sense or the "vernacular".[1] This range of approaches is indicative of what Roger Backhouse and Jeff Biddle argue is the ambiguous nature of the concept of applied economics. It is a concept with multiple meanings.[2] Among broad methodological distinctions, one source places it in neither positive nor normative economics but the art of economics.