Supplies of the factors of production are not unlimited. This is why choices have to be made about how best to use them, which is where economics comes in. Market forces operating through the price mechanism usually offer the most efficient way to allocate scarce resources, with government planning playing at most a minor role. Scarcity does not imply poverty. In economic terms, it means simply that needs and wants exceed the resources available to meet them, which is as common in rich countries as in poor ones.