Scarcity as the Person Responsible

Scarcity

As the person responsible for the allocation of the food supplies, I must determine the most efficient use of the fixed supply of food. The production possibilities frontier can shed light on the best possible allocation. The production possibilities frontier (PPF) typically outlines the tradeoff between two possibilities (Investopedia, 2010). The frontier represents any point at which aggregate production is optimized. In my role, I am dealing with a fixed amount of food, so I cannot exceed maximum production. That is to say I cannot distribute food beyond the efficient frontier. I can, however, distribute food in an inefficient way, below the frontier.

I need to make several assumptions. One is that the food is easily divisible. Whatever we have, we can easily measure and divide it. The food is also non-perishable (the nature of the food is otherwise irrelevant). Another assumption is that there is enough food for all eight people to survive, if properly rationed, but that there is not enough food for us to feast. If the amount of food is beyond what we need -- that is beyond the efficient frontier -- then my rationing is irrelevant. Given that humans can survive six days without eating, the amount of food may be below the efficient frontier, meaning that my job is to best ration the food, not perfectly ration it. It is also assumed that there are no other food sources on this island and that we are unlikely to catch any fish. If there were other food sources, the efficient frontier would be pushed outward. In the course of my decision-making, however, I must assume that this is not possible or I will overallocate the food. I did assume, however, that we have adequate water supplies. This removes what would otherwise be a constraint in our food decision making, since six days without water would begin to kill us regardless of the food decision.

The scarcity of food reflects a tradeoff that must be made between nutrition and time. One of the most important factors in my decision-making is the certainty that we will be rescued within six days. Humans can live beyond six days with no food, and without further food sources we may be required to do this. I must also consider the political implications of food rationing, especially severe rationing. If the rescue attempt does not materialize as expected, hunger will drive some people into irrational behavior that could compromise safety of the group, in particular if there is still some food.

I-based my decision on the belief that we should plan for the six days until we are rescued. Essentially, if the rescue happens earlier, we have consumption below the efficient frontier since we would have food left over when the rescue ship arrives. If the rescue takes longer than six days, we will have run out of food. However, we will have optimal health at that point given the information at hand when the allocation decision was made. The frontier will have shifted, which means that we will have consumed beyond the actual frontier, although we consumed at the expected frontier.