Answer to Question #94237 in Microeconomics for Olabode ABDULRAHMAN

Question

Does the fact that something is abundant mean it is not scarce in the economic sense? Why or why not?

Answer 1

No, not necessarily.

This is because, in economics, something can be abundant but it still scarce. Scarcity means certain resources are limited while abundance means that the resources are in plenty. For example, water can be in abundant in some parts of the country especially near water bodies like rivers or lakes but if someone in the same country lives in dry area, water would be a scarce resource. Also, water could be abundant in supply but is polluted and unusable and thus clean water is still a scarce resource.