Question

Define and describe scarcity.​

Answer 1

Scarcity refers to the basic economic problem, the gap between limited – that is, scarce – resources and theoretically limitless wants. This situation requires people to make decisions about how to allocate resources efficiently, in order to satisfy basic needs and as many additional wants as possible.

Scarcity dictates that economic decisions must be made regularly in order to manage the availability of resources to meet human needs. Some examples of scarcity include: The gasoline shortage in the 1970's. Coal is used to create energy; the limited amount of this resource that can be mined is an example of scarcity.

Scarcity is simply the concept that human wants (not human needs) exceed the resources available that are necessary to produce the goods used to satisfy those wants. Since economics is the study of how people make choices, without scarcity there would exist no choice and, hence, no economics.

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