QUESTION: Does the fact that something is abundant mean it is not scarce in the economic sense? ANSWER: Something is said to be abundant when it is available in massive quantities. and will be said to he scarce if it exists in small quantities. But a much better denition for each would make mention of the extent of the need or demand for the particular thing in question. Scarcity and abundance could apply interchangeably. meaning that a commodity or resource could he scarce in one place and still be regarded as abundant due to the its low demand or value. And it could he that the conmlodity is abundant. but scarce because it isn't enough to satisfy the need for it. In economics, demand and supply determines whether a conmtodity is scarce or abundant. Demand leads to scarcity= while supply. or more generally speaking, availability increases abundance of the commodity. Therefore in the economic sense something that is scarce could he just that or actually abundant in another sense as observed above