Scarcity in economics means:

Scarcity in economics refers to the fundamental issue that arises because resources are limited while human wants and needs are virtually unlimited. Answering with the statement about not having enough resources to produce all the goods and services we want accurately captures the essence of scarcity. Economics fundamentally deals with how to allocate those limited resources effectively among competing uses.

The concept of scarcity drives the need for choice, prompting individuals, businesses, and governments to prioritize their resource allocation. Because resources like time, money, labor, and raw materials are finite, societies must make decisions about what to produce, how much to produce, and for whom to produce. This illustrates the perpetual economic problem of constraints leading to trade-offs and opportunity costs.

The other choices do not accurately define scarcity. An abundance of resources would lead to a situation where scarcity is not a concern. Unlimited resources for production directly contradict the idea of scarcity. Lastly, while better resource management is important, it is merely a response to the problem of scarcity rather than a definition of the concept itself.