Explain the concept of recursion in programming and provide an example of its application.

Recursion in programming is a technique where a function calls itself in order to solve a problem. It is commonly used in scenarios where a problem can be broken down into smaller, similar subproblems. An example of recursion is the factorial function, where the factorial of a non-negative integer n is the product of all positive integers less than or equal to n. Recursion can lead to elegant and concise solutions but must be used carefully to avoid infinite loops.