This essay delineates a distinction between two fields of inquiry: Buddhist economics and the economics of Buddhism. The distinction is made on the basis that the former is a prescriptive and ethical project and the latter is a descriptive and academic one. In other words, Buddhist economics suggests how Buddhists should behave economically, and the economics of Buddhism examines how Buddhists do behave economically. On the basis of this distinction, an argument is made that although the field of the economics of Buddhism is a recent development, it does have a history. That history is presented in terms of the variety of topics that have already been studied by researchers. That research indicates the scope that the field can encompass. The range of recent studies is then also presented, again by reference to the topics of study. Such a topical presentation avoids attempting to define the field in more systematic or programmatic ways. The epistemological argument is made that a topical approach reflects an inquiry-based methodology—that is, asking good questions—rather than an artificial architectonic that imposes preconceptions about economic behavior onto the research project. The essay closes with a reflection on the economics of the field of Buddhist studies itself.