Scarcity and Choice

Scarcity and choice lie at the heart of economics. If all goods were free goods, there would be no need to economize. With free goods, we could have an unlimited quan¬tity of all goods and services at no cost. However, unfortunately, we live in a world of economic goods, which implies that we must choose among restricting alternatives that are costly. Productive resources, time, and income are limited, and we must make hundreds of choices each day among the numerous alternatives available.