Tag: economics of planning

Scarce resources refers to the resources which are limited in quantity and have alternative uses in production of various commodities. So the problem of these scarce resources is reflected in the aggregate supply of the economy which is also limited owing to limited source of inputs. 

During deflation the purchasing power of money will increase. 

(c).  Lakhs of trees are planted by people in the month of July every year. The occasion is called Van Mahotsav.

The central problems of production deals with production of necessary commodities using scarce means of resources. Therefore, "when to produce" is not a central problem as it is assumed that goods are demanded throughout the year because of unlimited human wants. 

One country enjoys a comparative advantage over the other in producing oil when it can produce oil at a lower opportunity cost than the other country .The country enjoys a greater advantage over other countries if the opportunity cost of producing oil in that country is less than others.

Central problem for every economy includes: What to produce?

Production, distribution and disposition of goods and services are the basic economic activities of life. In the course of these activities, every society has to face scarcity of resources. Because of this scarcity, every society has to decide how to allocate the scarce resources.

It leads to following Central Problems that are faced by every economy:

1. What to produce?

2. How to produce?

3. for whom to produce?

These problems are called central problems because these are the most basic problems of an economy and all other problems revolve around them.

The consumer achieves equilibrium at a point which is in the highest possible indifference curve and which fits the budget of the consumer given the prices of both the commodities. Such a point is only possible when the budget line is tangent to the indifference curve. Therefore, only one indifference curve can touch the budget line. 

The central problem of an economy does not deal with the time of production as it is assumed that human wants are unlimited and goods are required throughout the year. Therefore, the the problem of 'When to produce?' is not regarded as a central problem of the economy.

Causes of Economic Problem:

(i) Unlimited Wants

Human wants are unlimited in numbers. There is no end of human wants; whenever one want is satisfied, automatically the other wants crop up and this goes on and on. There are several wants which are recurring in nature like, food, clothes, shoes, etc. Moreover, human wants are increasing day by day with the development of education, knowledge and civilisation.

(ii) Limited Resources:

In economics, scarcity means that commodities and resources to produce goods and services are less in relation to their demand. Goods and services that satisfy human wants are produced with the help of resources such as land, labour, capital and enterprise. These resources are scarce while wants are unlimited. Due to scarcity of these resources, an economy cannot produce all that goods and services as required by its citizens. Consequently, some wants remain unsatisfied.

(iii) Alternative Uses of Resources:

Means are not only limited but also have alternative uses. Hence, choice has to be made for different alternative uses. For example, electricity can be used for lighting lamps or for cooking food or for operating TV, Fridge, music system etc. Similarly, there are many resources which have got their alternative uses. This characteristic makes resources scarce. Thus, every economy has to choose better alternative uses of resources to which they can be put.