1.1.1 Economics as a Social Science

• Economists need to make assumptions about the world to simplify the problem.
• A key assumption made by economists is that all events will occur with ceteris paribus.
• Ceteris paribus is Latin for all other things remain equal.
• Economists cannot conduct scientific experiments, so models are devised.
• Economists use real life scenarios to build models upon, and this is when assumptions are made.