Question

China’s tremendous growth rate over the past two decades has allowed its economic output to nearly catch up to that of the United States. If China continued to grow much faster than the United States, would this eventually lead to the elimination of scarcity in China?

Answer 1

Although China is growing much faster than the United States, however it would not lead to the elimination of scarcity in China. Even when output grows more rapidly than population, Chinese will still face trade-offs. It always holds true that at any point along the production possibilities curve, for getting more of one thing, a person give up something else, thus the growth alone does not eliminate scarcity. Moreover, "scarcity” is an abstract concept which denies the potential for its elimination. It is the human condition insofar as wants of people are essentially infinite however resources will always be limited.