Economists
A) always put the independent variable on the horizontal axis and the dependent variable on the vertical axis.
B) always put the dependent variable on the horizontal axis and the independent variable on the vertical axis.
C) are somewhat arbitrary in assigning independent and dependent variables to the horizontal and vertical axes.
D) measure the slope of a line differently than do mathematicians.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Economists often have flexibility in deciding which variable to put on which axis, depending on their research question and the variables they are working with. For example, if studying the relationship between income and education level, some economists might put income on the y-axis and education on the x-axis, while others might reverse the placement. There is no set convention in economic research as to which variable should be on which axis.