Ex ante

Okay, imagine you're going to have a test tomorrow. Ex ante means thinking about the test and what you're going to do before you actually take it. You might study ahead of time and try to prepare yourself for the questions that will be on the test. That's ex ante thinking - thinking about what's going to happen before it actually does. It's like trying to predict the future and getting ready for it so you'll be more successful when the actual event happens. So, ex ante is all about planning and preparing for something before it actually happens.