It is a natural outgrowth of scarcity. Scarcity and choice are the two basic ingredients of an economic topic.
Economists use the term capital to refer to physical resources.
Scarcity in developed versus less developed countries. Scarcity and poverty are not the same thing. The absence of poverty is possible, the absence of scarcity is not. The Economic Way of Thinking A. Eight guideposts to economic thinking. Scarce goods have a cost there are no free lunches.