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An '''imaginary construct''' is a set of false assumptions that are used to form a model of a set of phenomena in an attempt to isolate cause-and-effect relationships.<ref name="causal_realist">[[Joseph Salerno]] [http://mises.org/media/categories/99/Fundamentals-of-Economic-Analysis-A-CausalRealist-Approach "Fundamentals of Economic Analysis: A Causal-Realist Approach"], 2007, Lecture 1 Scarcity, Choice, and Value.</ref> Imaginary constructs are said to be useful if the conclusions derived from them are not inapplicable to reality after the assumptions are dropped.<ref name="causal_realist" />  Examples of imaginary constructs in economics include the [[evenly rotating economy]] and [[perfect competition]].
An '''imaginary construct''' is a set of false assumptions that are used to form a model of a set of phenomena in an attempt to isolate cause-and-effect relationships.<ref name="causal_realist">[[Joseph Salerno]] [http://mises.org/media/categories/99/Fundamentals-of-Economic-Analysis-A-CausalRealist-Approach "Fundamentals of Economic Analysis: A Causal-Realist Approach"], 2007, Lecture 1 Scarcity, Choice, and Value.</ref> Imaginary constructs are said to be useful if the conclusions derived from them are still applicable to reality after the assumptions are dropped.<ref name="causal_realist" />  Examples of imaginary constructs in economics include the [[evenly rotating economy]] and [[perfect competition]].


==References==
==References==

Revision as of 04:19, 16 November 2011

An imaginary construct is a set of false assumptions that are used to form a model of a set of phenomena in an attempt to isolate cause-and-effect relationships.[1] Imaginary constructs are said to be useful if the conclusions derived from them are still applicable to reality after the assumptions are dropped.[1] Examples of imaginary constructs in economics include the evenly rotating economy and perfect competition.

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Joseph Salerno "Fundamentals of Economic Analysis: A Causal-Realist Approach", 2007, Lecture 1 Scarcity, Choice, and Value.

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