The beginning of economics at KUL falls on the year 1918, when the Faculty of Law and Socioeconomic Science was founded. The outbreak of World War II interrupted a period of economic studies at KUL because the University was shut down during the German occupation. In 1945, at the Faculty of Law and Socioeconomic Science lunched studies in Agricultural Economics. However, the Faculty was put into liquidation by a ruling of the Ministry of Education on 23 June 1949 as this entity was unwanted in communist Poland.
 
In 1981 the School of Economics was re-established within the Faculty of Social Sciences. Later, on account of the changes within the faculty structure, the Schools were renamed as Institutes and, furthermore, in 1998 the Institute of Management and Marketing was founded, which, in 2008, was joined to the Institute of Economics. In 2019 the Institute of Economics and Management was divided - two management departments joined the Institute of Journalism and Social Communication, renamed as the Institute of Journalism and Management, the rest of departments became part of the Institute of Economics and Finance.
 
At present Institute of Economics and Finance employs approximately 30 scholars conducting their research and teaching activity. The Director of the Institute is Professor Paweł Marzec. The Institute consists of following departments: