Scarcity

Categories: Econ

Diamonds. Gold. Oil. Oscar-winning actors. Seven-foot-tall dudes who can hit three pointers under pressure. These things are scarce.

A handful of beach sand. A box of garbage. Theses things are not scarce.

But what does “scarcity” mean in economic terms?

Let’s back up a bit. Beep. Beep. Beep. The basic forces of economics are supply and demand. The fundamental pricing action in an economy lies in figuring out how to distribute limited resources. Basically, finding a way to get supply and demand into balance. So that’s the theory.

Example:

People want stuff, like hamburgers. They get hangry and need comfort food and/or fuel and/or calories masquerading as love. Joe 6-Pack wants his burger. Demands it. So, yes, that's demand. Then someone provides the stuff. Supplies it. Like Freddie the Fry Cook. And that's supply. In the middle, you get prices, which help match and meter and measure the metrics of scarcity, i.e. where supply hooks up with demand. Everything is relative, or contextual. A bottle of water in the middle of the desert can be worth a hundred bucks. That same bottle in Kauai, where it rains 5 inches a day? Eh, not worth so much.

So, in context, when there's a lot of supply and limited demand, prices are low. People might love hamburgers, but there are a lot of them around (a lot of supply, i.e. they aren’t scarce), and all of the ingredients to a burger are easy to find. There are plenty of sources of all-beef patties. Plenty of special sauce. Plenty of lettuce, cheese, pickles, and onions, and plenty of wheat and sesame seeds to make sesame seed buns. Tons of suppliers. Easy to make. Commodities. There's no significant scarcity of hamburgers, so prices are relatively low. There aren't infinite burgers, but compared to
amber with dinosaur blood in it, and Olympic gold medalists, and brilliant, honest Congressmen...hamburgers aren't really scarce.

So what is scarce? How about beachfront property? Ever wanted to live in a mansion in Malibu? One of those babies will likely set you back a cool $20 mil. Beachfront property in a good location is rare (supply is very limited), but everyone anywhere near the coasts wants to live there. There’s a huge demand for this scarce resource.

Now technically, not all beachfront property is expensive. Remember Three Mile Island? Easy pickings. But if you want to live by the beach in California, you’re going to have to pay up, competing with other rich people willing to shell out millions for a close-up view of Moby or Flipper or, well, smog. And note that what’s scarce today might not always be scarce, or even prized. Beachfront property in California won’t always be as rare global warming continues, or a random nuke hits Greenland.

That $20 million Malibu home? It used to be beachfront. Now it’s Atlantis. And not the cool kind, where you can swim with dolphins. Or the kind with superheroes. No, just bottom-of-the-ocean, formally-20-million-dollar fish habitat. Demand has dropped to zero. It’s no longer scarce. It’s as common as junk on the bottom of the ocean. Meanwhile, with California’s new coastline, land that used to be inland orange and walnut groves, now has a spectacular view of the ocean. Farmer McGee, how about $12 million for a couple acres by the coast?

Want a two-carat diamond ring for your brand-new wife? The one who doesn't nag you daily to take out the garbage? That ring's going to cost you about $50,000, because there aren’t many diamonds that big, i.e. they're scarce...and they are desired. Want Denzel in your movie? It’s going to cost you a cool $5 million. If you want KD playing on your hoops team? It’s going to cost you about a quarter Unit a season. Why? They're scarce, not like a hamburger, and they’re desired by many, especially the rich.

So these are today’s prices for the intersections of supply and demand. Tomorrow, prices will move, as attributed values are continually in flux. An item might be scarce, but that doesn’t make it worth a lot of money...not if demand is low. The Shmoop Family Singers album is scarce and, um, oh so not desired. There’s only one Steven Seagal. Yeah, the fat and bald guy who used to be somebody.

The values attributed to scarcity can go the other way, too. Something that used to be very common can become scarce, and if demand remained flat or steady, these now scarce but demanded things can become…prized.

So watch out, Denzel. You might be one-of-a-kind, but scarcity doesn’t always mean high value. You’re always just one hamburger addiction away from heading down the Steven Seagal path to oblivion. But on the other side of the coin, maybe put a burger into your deep freezer, just in case. Who knows if it will be scarce one day? If all the cows are wiped out by a plague...burgers might become a scarce resource.

Related or Semi-related Video

Econ: What is scarcity?71 Views

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And finance Allah shmoop What is scarcity Oh diamonds gold

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oil Oscar winning actors These things are scarce Well a

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handful of beats sand a box of garbage An alley

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cat You have things Things are not scarce But what

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a scarcity even mean in economic terms All right let's

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back up a bit Basic forces of economics supply and

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demand Well the fundamental pricing action in an economy lies

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in figuring out how to distribute Limited resource is basically

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finding a way to get supplying two man in tow

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balance Yeah remember that graph This one right here Supply

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demand And here's why Base wife Right So that's the

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theory Okay People want stuff like hamburgers They get angry

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and need comfort food and or fuel and or calories

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masquerading as love Joe six Pack wants his burger demands

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it So yes that's demand And someone provides the stuff

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like supplies it like Freddie the fry cook and that's

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applied in the middle You get crisis which helped match

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and meter and measure The metrics are of Scarcity III

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where supply hooks up with demand Everything is relative or

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contextual right A bottle of water in the middle The

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desert can be worth a hundred bucks that same bottle

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in Kawai Hawaii where it rains five inches a day

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not so much so in contact When there's a lot

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of supply and limited demand Prices are low People might

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love hamburgers but there are a lot of them around

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a lot of supply They aren't scarce and all the

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ingredients to a burger well easy to find There are

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plenty of sources of all beef patties special sauce lettuce

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cheese pickles onions and plenty of wheat and you know

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sesame seeds to make the sesame seed buns there Yet

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tons of suppliers easy to make their called commodities a

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good or service that's more less the same wherever you

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biden in whatever form you receive it in But there's

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no significant scarcity of hamburgers so prices are relatively low

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in this sense There aren't infinite burgers but compared tto

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amber with the dinosaur blood in it and Olympic gold

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medalists and no brilliant honest Congress People Yeah Hamburgers aren't

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really scare So what is scarce How about beachfront property

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Everyone to live in a mansion in Malibu Yeah This

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little baby will set you back a cool twenty mil

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in this one eighty mil beachfront property in a good

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location is rare supplies very limited But everyone anywhere near

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the coast wants to live there There's huge demand for

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this scarcely supplied resource Now technically not all beachfront property

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is expensive but remember Three Mile Island you have this

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thing easy pickings But if you want to live by

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the beach in California without nuclear waste well you're going

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to have to pay up competing with other rich people

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willing to shell out millions and millions for a close

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up view of movie your flipper or well smog And

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note that what scarce today might not always be scarce

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or even prized beachfront property in California won't always be

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as rare if global warming continues There are a random

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new kits Greenland and all that ice sheet melts Well

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then here's the U S Map At that point the

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ice sheets melted oceans have risen and you remember that

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twenty million dollars Malibu home Well that used to be

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beachfront Now it's Atlantis and not the cool kind where

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you can swim with dolphins or the kind with superheroes

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know just bottom of the ocean Formally twenty million dollars

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fish habitat Yeah Demand has dropped to zero It's no

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longer scarce It's as common as junk on the bottom

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of the ocean Which basically is meanwhile with California's new

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coastline will land that used to be inland orange and

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walnut groves now has a spectacular view of the ocean

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Farmer McGee Yeah How about twelve million dollars for a

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couple of euro woman acres there by the coast Yeah

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I think that one of two carat diamond ring for

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your brand new wife Yeah The one who doesn't nag

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you daily to take out the garbage Yeah well that

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ring's gonna cost you about fifty thousand dollars because well

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there aren't many diamonds that big guy either Relatively scarce

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and they are desired If you want Cady playing on

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your hopes team Well it's gonna cost you about a

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quarter unit a season That twenty five million dollars because

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you know units hundred million bucks Why Well they're scarce

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They're scarce their desired They're not like a hamburger and

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their desired by many rich people who bid up pricing

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and well that's just how the game is played So

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these air today's prices for the intersections of supply and

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demand Tomorrow prices will move his attributed values or continually

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influx We value something's more today than we will in

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the future and all that stuff and I did might

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be scarce But that doesn't make it worth a lot

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of money Not if demand is low like well the

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Shmoop Family Singers song album is scarce and oh so

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not desired Yeah there's only one Steven Seagal this fat

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bald guy here he used Teo you know be somebody

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big action star in the day But he's not getting

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Denzel or even Brad Pitiful money These days the values

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attributed to scarcity can go the other way to something

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that used to be very common can become scarce you

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know like a bald eagle about that And if demand

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remained flat or steady well these now scarce but demanded

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things can become prized So watch out Brad you might

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be one of a kind of scarcity doesn't always mean

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high value your homies Just one hamburger addiction away from

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heading down the Steven Seagal path to oblivion But on

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the other side of the coin will maybe put a

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burger into your deep freezer just in case Who knows

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If it'll be scarce one day if all the cows

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were wiped out in a plague you know that mad

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cow disease thing is the thing Well Burger's just might 00:05:19.384 --> [endTime] become a scarce resource again

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