Imaginary construct
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 applicable to reality after the assumptions are dropped.[1] Examples of imaginary constructs in economics include the evenly rotating economy and perfect competition.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Joseph Salerno "Fundamentals of Economic Analysis: A Causal-Realist Approach", 2007, Lecture 1 Scarcity, Choice, and Value.