ECO 360/ Marginal Benefit / Cost and Scarcity

Define the concept of scarcity: Scarcity: The goods available are too few to satisfy individuals' desires. Scarcity is a central concept in economics. Resources are scarce if any individual would prefer to have more of that good or service than they already have. Most goods and services are scarce - those that are not are known as free goods. Where goods are scarce it is necessary for society to make choices as to how they are allocated and used. Economists study (among other things) how societies perform the optimal allocation of these resources. …