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Look up toy model in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
In scientific modeling, a toy model is a deliberately simplistic model with many details removed so that it can be used to explain a mechanism concisely. It is also useful in a description of the fuller model.
- In "toy" mathematical models,[clarification needed] this is usually done by reducing or extending the number of dimensions or reducing the number of fields/variables or restricting them to a particular symmetric form.
- In economic models, some may be only loosely based on theory, others more explicitly so. They allow for a quick first pass at some question, and present the essence of the answer from a more complicated model or from a class of models. For the researcher, they may come before writing a more elaborate model, or after, once the elaborate model has been worked out. Blanchard's list of examples includes the IS–LM model, the Mundell–Fleming model, the RBC model, and the New Keynesian model.[1]
- In "toy" physical descriptions, an analogous example of an everyday mechanism is often used for illustration.
The phrase "tinker-toy model" is also used,[citation needed] in reference to the Tinkertoys product used for children's constructivist learning.
- ^ 3. Blanchard O., 2018- On the future of macroeconomic models, Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Volume 34, Numbers 1–2, 2018, p.p.52-53.