Definition of Assume a Can Opener

By Mike Moffatt

Definition: The phrase assume a can opener comes from a joke most economists can tell off by heart. There are multiple versions of the joke - the website Notes on Social Security Reform has one of the most common version:

1. " A physicist, a chemist and an economist are stranded on an island, with nothing to eat. A can of soup washes ashore. The physicist says, "Let's smash the can open with a rock." The chemist says, "Let's build a fire and heat the can first." The economist says, "Let's assume that we have a can-opener..." "

The reference comes from the stereotype that many economic models require unrealistic or absurd assumptions in order to obtain results. The phrase is often used by economists to describe research that has particularly unusual or unrealistic assumptions (by the standards of modern economic research).

Terms related to Assume a Can Opener:

• Econometric Model
• Neoclassical Model
• Calibration

About.Com Resources on Assume a Can Opener:

• Fiscal Stimulus - A Real World Failure

• Should Economists Spend More Time Discussing Externalities?

Writing a Term Paper? Here are a few starting points for research on Assume a Can Opener:

Journal Articles on Assume a Can Opener:

• Assuming the can opener: hedonic wage estimates and the value of life
• First, Let's Assume We Have a Can Opener: An Analysis of the Economics of a Single North American Barley Market
• Assuming a can opener: Economic theory's failure to explain discrimination in FHA lending markets