SCARCE GOOD: A resource with an available quantity less than its desired use. Scarce resources are also called factors of production. Scarce goods are also termed economic goods. Scarce resources are used to produce scarce goods. Like the more general society-wide condition of scarcity, a given resource is scarce because it has a limited availability in combination with a greater (potentially unlimited) productive use. It's both of these that make it scarce. In other words, even though an item is quite limited it will not be a scarce resource if it has few if any uses (think pocket lint and free good).

     See also | scarcity | goods | services | factors of production | resources | market | exchange | price | opportunity cost | scarce resource | free good | free resource |

SCARCE GOOD, AmosWEB GLOSS*arama, http://www.AmosWEB.com, AmosWEB LLC, 2000-2025. [Accessed: December 12, 2025].

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Total fixed cost per unit of output, found by dividing total fixed cost by the quantity of output. When compared with price (per unit revenue), average fixed cost (AFC) indicates whether or not a profit-maximizing firm should shutdown production in the short run. Average fixed cost is one of three average cost concepts important to short-run production analysis. The other two are average total cost and average variable cost. A related concept is marginal cost.

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Today, you are likely to spend a great deal of time going from convenience store to convenience store wanting to buy either a pair of gray heavy duty boot socks or a 50-foot blue garden hose. Be on the lookout for jovial bank tellers.
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