This paper takes a closer look at the divergence of economic approaches towards contracts (agreements) with various developments of Economic Contract Theory and Law and Economics of Contracts. In order to observe the multifaceted nature of Economic Contract Theory, its three main directions are discussed, namely incentive theory, incomplete theory and transaction cost theory. To track the evolution of these two approaches, a selected survey of publications that appeared over the past decade in leading scientific journals was conducted. We conclude that Economic Contract Theory forms a distinct economic approach in contracts in comparison to Law and Economics of Contracts, but there are noticeable similarities.