What is the difference between a shortage and scarcity? A shortage can be temporary or long-term, but scarcity always exists. A shortage is a lack of all goods and services; scarcity concerns a single item. There is no real difference between a shortage and scarcity. A shortage results from rising prices; scarcity results from falling prices.

A shortage can be temporary or long-term, but scarcity always exists.

Explanation:

Scarcity is a basic concept in economics which explains that human wants are unlimited and thus termed insatiable as the resources required to meet those needs are in limited supply.

As such scarcity as a concept has always been in existence and will always b. Shortage on the other hand is a limited supply of an item which may be in the short term or in the long run. While a shortage may be dealt with in time, scarcity will always be in existence.