Discussion Paper Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Discussion Paper - Assignment Example In economics terms, scarcity is referred to as the lack of sufficient factors of production needed in the production of certain goods and services. Economists maintain that scarcity exists on economy-wide bases. For e.g. Individuals want many things for consumption but they have to go without some. Businesses have a choice of buying certain equipment in which they have to make a choice and go for the best option. Similarly, economies face scarcity when they decide to produce certain good with finite resources and forego the others. The concept with which these choices are made is called â€Å"Opportunity Costs†. This is a basic principle concerning scarcity. The concept holds that opportunity cost is giving up the next best alternative for the best and most rational choice. Similarly, trade-offs is another option to counter scarcity, so as exchange and international trade. In this class, we expect that we will be given certain tools and techniques that will help us manage the problem of scarcity and will help us deal with it in the most efficient manner. This will minimize the impact of scarcity and help us make rational choice given the quantities of finite factors of production at our hand. Equilibrium means balance and where there is no tendency to change. Market equilibrium is a situation where the plans of buyers meet the plans of suppliers at a particular price and hence there is no tendency to change as it will bring about varying outcomes from the perspective of both buyers and sellers. Therefore, it is the price at which a certain quantity of goods is supplied and bought and where a market is working efficiently. An example of how a change in demand resulted in change in price can be taken from oil industry. From 2000 onwards, the global economy experienced a boom. As a result, demand for oil started increasing exponentially. This resulted in increase in oil prices and oil prices reached near to $140/barrel in the first half of