In economics, scarcity is defined as a condition of limited resources, where society does not have sufficient resources to produce enough to fulfill subjective wants. Alternatively, scarcity implies that not all of society's goals can be attained at the same time, so that trade-offs are made of one good against others. Neoclassical economics, the dominant school of economics today, defines its field as involving scarcity: following Lionel Robbins' definition, economics is a science which studies human behavior as a relationship between ends and scarce means which have alternative uses. Face-to-face trading interactions on the New York Stock Exchange trading floor. ... A Tradeoff usually refers to losing one quality or aspect of something in return for gaining another quality or aspect. ... Neoclassical economics refers to a general approach (a metatheory) to economics based on supply and demand which depends on individuals (or any economic agent) operating rationally, each seeking to maximize their individual utility or profit by making choices based on available information. ... Lionel Charles Robbins, Baron Robbins (1898 - 1984) was a British economist of the 20th century who proposed one of the early contemporary definitions of economics, Economics is a science which studies human behavior as a relationship between ends and scarce means which have alternative uses. ... Lionel Robbins Essay (1932, 2nd ed. ...

In biology, scarcity can refer to the uncommonness or rarity of certain species. Such species are often protected by province, national or international law in order to prevent extinction. Rare species is an organism which is very uncommon or scarce. ... In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biodiversity. ... The Dodo, shown here in illustration, is an often-cited[1] example of modern extinction. ...

Goods and services

Goods and services are scarce because of the limited availability of resources (the factors of production) along with the limits on our technology and skillful people relative to the total amount desired. If somehow people desired nothing, there would be no scarcity. If resources were great enough to produce more than anyone desired, there would also be no scarcity. Scarce resources determine the location of society's production possibilities frontier or curve (PPF). Inefficiencies in the use of resources (less than full employment or inappropriate employment of inputs like land and capital) may limit the amount produced so that the economy operates below its PPF. It is difficult to abolish all inefficiencies, and some characterize institutional inefficiency as artificial scarcity. Factors of production are resources used in the production of goods and services in economics. ... In economics, a production possibilities curve (PPC) or “transformation curve” is a graph that shows the different quantities of two goods that an economy could efficiently produce with limited productive resources. ... In economics, full employment has more than one meaning. ... Artificial scarcity is an economic term describing the scarcity of items even though the technology and production capacity exists to create an abundance. ...

Goods (including services) that are scarce are called economic goods (or simply 'goods' if their scarcity is presumed). Other goods are called free goods if they are desired but in such abundance that they are not scarce, such as air and seawater. Too much of something freely available can informally be referred to as a 'bad', but then its absence can classified as a good, thus, a mowed lawn, clean air, etc. A good or commodity in economics is any object or service that increases utility, directly or indirectly, not be confused with good in a moral or ethical sense (see Utilitarianism and consequentialist ethical theory). ... The free good is a term used in economics to describe a good that is not scarce. ...

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 — along with how societies often fail to attain this optimality and are instead inefficient. The term inefficiency has several meanings depending on the context in which its used: Economic inefficiency refers to a situation where we could be doing a better job, i. ...

For example, we may all want to own gold jewelry. The amount of gold available, however, is limited, so it is necessary to make choices as to how it is allocated. In a market economy, this is achieved by trade. Other ways to make this decision involve tradition, community democracy, and government top-down or centralized command. In the market, individuals and organizations, such as corporations, trade resources amongst themselves, reallocating resources to where they are most wanted by those with purchasing power. In a smoothly operating market system, the rate of exchange between different resources, or price will adjust so that demand is equal to supply. One of the roles of the economist is to discover the relationship between demand and supply and to develop mechanisms (such as pricing, incentives, or penalties) to achieve an optimal outcome (in terms of consumer welfare). Jewelry (the American spelling; spelled jewellery in Commonwealth English) consists of ornamental devices worn by persons, typically made with gems and precious metals. ... The supply and demand model describes how prices vary as a result of a balance between product availability at each price (supply) and the desires of those with purchasing power at each price (demand). ...

Certain goods are likely to remain inherently scarce by definition or by design; examples include land and positional goods such as awards generated by honor systems, fame, and membership of elites. These things are said to derive all or most of their value from their scarcity. But these may be seen as examples of artificial scarcity, reflecting societal institutions. That is, the resource cost of giving someone the title of "knight of the realm" is much less than the value that individuals attach to that title. Land in economics comprises all naturally occurring resources whose supply is inherently fixed (i. ... A positional good is an intrinsically scarce good whose value is determined by its social context, as opposed to a material good which has innate value. ... An honor system or honesty system is a philosophical way of running a variety of endeavors based on trust, honor, and honesty. ... Look up Fame in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Look up elite, élite in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

As informational goods can be copied at negligible cost, they do not need to be scarce. This is why copies of free software such as GNU/Linux are typically available for very little cost. However, proprietary software and many other products are kept artificially scarce through intellectual property protection laws, most commonly copyrights and patents. For the 2006 film, see Intellectual Property (movie). ...

Criticisms

Some question the concept of scarcity, on the grounds that it assumes human wants are "unlimited." (See the Simple living and Voluntary Simplicity movements.) These "unlimited" wants may result more from culture, than human nature. For example, people can be influenced to want more by: peer pressure, adverts, or the desire to show off. They might also see consumption as a means of coping with unfulfillment. The problem of scarcity seems less relevant to Basic Needs - like food, water, shelter, clothing, and health care. Simple living (or voluntary simplicity) is a lifestyle individuals may pursue for a variety of motivations, such as spirituality, health, or ecology. ...

The Technocratic movement argues that North America can achieve abundance and self-sufficiency, through the application of scientific principles and technology. They suggest replacing human labor with machines and cutting the work-week to four half-days (16 hours). They propose an economy with energy accounting, instead of finance. The value of goods would be based on the energy required to produce them. Machines would run at full-load to maximize efficiency. People would receive an equal share of total energy production in the form of goods. A sign on the outskirts of a Depression-era town proclaims regular Monday meetings of the local branch of Technocracy. ...

In News from Nowhere, a Utopian novel by William Morris, the existence of creative work for all helps abolish the problem of scarcity. Many economists believe it is impractical to provide creative work for everyone. Some people might not even desire it. See Utopia (disambiguation) for other meanings of this word Utopia, in its most common and general meaning, refers to a hypothetical perfect society. ... William Morris, socialist and innovator in the Arts and Crafts movement William Morris (March 24, 1834 – October 3, 1896) was an English artist, writer, socialist and activist. ...

Harris's Lament

Inherent scarcity has been expressed in popular media as Harris's Lament: "all the good ones are taken!". For example, Harris's Lament has been used to complain about the inherent scarcity of such things as names of computers on networks^[1][2] and boyfriends^[3]. Harris's Lament originates from a Barney Miller episode in which Detective Ron Harris (played by Ron Glass) attempted to find a good apartment in New York City (no easy task). Barney Miller was a comedy television series set in a New York City police station that ran from January 23, 1975, to May 20, 1982 on ABC. It was created by Danny Arnold (who also did work on Gilligans Island and The Brady Bunch) and Theodore J. Flicker. ... Ron Glass (born July 10, 1945 in Evansville, Indiana) is an American actor, best known for his role as the witty Detective Ron Harris in the long-running television sitcom Barney Miller (1975-1982). ... New York, NY redirects here. ...

References

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) is an influential international daily newspaper published in New York City, New York with a worldwide average daily circulation of more than 2. ... Newsday is a daily tabloid-size newspaper that primarily serves Long Island and the New York City borough of Queens, although it is sold throughout the New York City metropolitan area. ...

Bibliography

• Milgate, Murray (1987), "goods and commodities," The New Palgrave: A Dictionary *of Economics, v. 2, pp. 546-48.
• Montani, Guido (1987), "scarcity," The New Palgrave: A Dictionary of Economics, v. 4, pp. 253-54.

See also

• Abundance, its opposite
• An Essay on the Nature and Significance of Economic Science
• Value theory
• Post scarcity
• Rare species