Editing Ceteris paribus (section)

=== Interpretation ===
One of the disciplines in which ''ceteris paribus'' clauses are most widely used is [[economics]], in which they are employed to simplify the formulation and description of economic outcomes.<ref name=Investopedia /> When using ''ceteris paribus'' in economics, one assumes that all other variables except those under immediate consideration are held constant.<ref name=Investopedia /> For example, it can be predicted that if the price of [[beef]] ''increases''—''ceteris paribus''—the quantity of beef demanded by buyers will ''decrease''. In this example, the clause is used to operationally describe everything surrounding the relationship between both the ''price'' and the ''quantity demanded'' of an [[ordinary good]].

This operational description intentionally ignores both known and unknown factors that may also influence the relationship between price and quantity demanded, and thus to assume ''ceteris paribus'' is to assume away any interference with the given example.<ref name=Investopedia /> Such factors that would be intentionally ignored include: a change in the price of substitute goods, (e.g., the price of pork or lamb); a change in the level of [[risk aversion]] among buyers (e.g., due to an increase in the fear of [[mad cow disease]]); and a change in the level of overall demand for a good regardless of its current price (e.g., a societal shift toward [[vegetarianism]]).

The clause is often loosely translated as "holding all else constant." It does not imply that no other things will in fact change; rather, it isolates the effect of one particular change.<ref name=Investopedia /> Holding all other things constant is directly analogous to using a [[partial derivative]] in [[calculus]] rather than a [[total derivative]],  and to running a [[regression analysis|regression]] containing multiple variables rather than just one in order to isolate the individual effect of one of the variables. Ceteris paribus is an extension of scientific modeling. The scientific method is built on identifying, isolating, and testing the impact of an independent variable on a dependent variable.<ref name=Investopedia />

One thing to note is that since economic variables can only be isolated in theory and not in practice, ceteris paribus can only ever highlight tendencies, not absolutes.<ref name=Investopedia />