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Preferred term

scarcity  

Definition

  • Scarcity is a concept fundamental to economics with important ramifications concerning human use of natural resources. Before the rise of classical economics, the term was primarily used to refer to times or situations of hardship; for example, there was a scarcity of food if people were starving; if people had plenty of food and other amenities, there was abundance. [Source: Encyclopedia of Environment and Society; Scarcity]

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URI

https://concepts.sagepub.com/social-science/concept/scarcity

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