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Followers in the neoclassical tradition, such as William Beveridge and Arthur Pigou have continued to define economics in terms of material economic welfare. According to Pigou, "the range of enquiry becomes restricted to that part of social welfare that can be brought directly or indirectly into relation with the measuring rod of money".
[1] Scarcity is the limited availability of a commodity, which may be in demand in the market or by the commons. Scarcity also includes an individual's lack of resources to buy commodities. [2] The opposite of scarcity is abundance. Scarcity plays a key role in economic theory, and it is essential for a "proper definition of economics itself". [3]
As a representation of the relationship between scarcity and choice, [2] the objective of opportunity cost is to ensure efficient use of scarce resources. [3] It incorporates all associated costs of a decision, both explicit and implicit . [ 4 ]
In view of the scarce resources, the question of whether all available resources are fully utilized is an important one. A community should achieve maximum satisfaction by using the scarce resources in the best possible manner—not wasting resources or using them inefficiently.
In regard to labor, economic rent can be created by the existence of mass education, labor laws, state social reproduction supports, democracy, guilds, and labor unions (e.g., higher pay for some workers, where collective action creates a scarcity of such workers, as opposed to an ideal condition where labor competes with other factors of ...
The earlier term for the discipline was "political economy", but since the late 19th century, it has commonly been called "economics". [22] The term is ultimately derived from Ancient Greek οἰκονομία (oikonomia) which is a term for the "way (nomos) to run a household (oikos)", or in other words the know-how of an οἰκονομικός (oikonomikos), or "household or homestead manager".
The rational choice model, also called rational choice theory refers to a set of guidelines that help understand economic and social behaviour. [1] The theory originated in the eighteenth century and can be traced back to the political economist and philosopher Adam Smith . [ 2 ]
Hoarding in economics refers to the concept of purchasing and storing a large amount of a particular product, creating scarcity of that product, and ultimately driving the price of that product up. Commonly hoarded products include assets such as money, gold and public securities , [ 1 ] as well as vital goods such as fuel and medicine. [ 2 ]