Resource scarcity is defined as a situation where demand for a natural resource is exceeding the supply – leading to a decline in available resources. When we talk about scarce resources, we usually imply that current use is unsustainable in the long-term. Scarcity can involve non-renewable resources, such as oil, precious metals and helium. It …
Definition: Scarcity refers to resources being finite and limited. Scarcity means we have to decide how and what to produce from these limited resources. It means there is a constant opportunity cost involved in making economic decisions. Scarcity is one of the fundamental issues in economics. Examples of scarcity Land – a shortage of fertile …
Definition An economic good is a good or service that has a benefit (utility) to society. Also, economic goods have a degree of scarcity and therefore an opportunity cost. This is in contrast to a free good (like air, sea, water) where there is no opportunity cost – but abundance. Free goods cannot be traded …
Definition – Opportunity cost is the next best alternative foregone. If we spend that £20 on a textbook, the opportunity cost is the restaurant meal we cannot afford to pay. If you decide to spend two hours studying on a Friday night. The opportunity cost is that you cannot have those two hours for leisure. …
A concise definition of economics Economics is the study of how to deal with the problem of scarcity and opportunity cost of decisions. Economics is concerned with the optimal distribution of scarce resources in particular What to Produce? How to Produce? Whom to Produce? To this end, economists investigate economic decisions made by individuals, firms …
At the start of the academic year, I always feel a little pressure to justify the study of economics. Students come up asking things like, should they do economics or history? It’s hard to know what to say, but to get people excited about economics it’s good to try and think how economics can be …
The fundamental economic problem is the issue of scarcity but unlimited wants. Scarcity implies there is only a limited quantity of resources, e.g. finite fossil fuels. Because of scarcity, there is a constant opportunity cost – if you use resources to consume one good, you cannot consume another. Therefore, an underlying feature of economics is …