Imaginary construct

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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.[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, perfect competition and the Robinson Crusoe economy.

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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