Scarcity: Why having too little means so much

by Sendhil Mullainathan

Missed deadlines are a lot like over-due

When a concept occupies our thoughts, we see words related to it more quickly.

It is very hard to fake scarcity.

culture of india and china may give different result

scarcity captures the mind both when thinking fast and when thinking slow.

scarcity causes us to tunnel: to focus single-mindedly on managing the scarcity at hand.

Focus is a positive: scarcity focuses us on what seems, at that moment, to matter most. Tunneling is not: scarcity leads us to tunnel and neglect other, possibly more important, things.

focus on scarcity is involuntary,

By constantly drawing us back into the tunnel, scarcity taxes our bandwidth and, as a result, inhibits our most fundamental capacities.

Preoccupied by scarcity, they had lower fluid intelligence scores.

Our study revealed that simply raising monetary concerns for the poor erodes cognitive performance even more than being seriously sleep deprived.

And because scarcity taxes bandwidth, this suggests that scarcity not only can lower fluid intelligence but can also reduce

This is not because they are less capable, but rather because part of their mind is captured by scarcity.

The problem is not the person but the context of scarcity.

Wealth transforms temptations into affordable luxuries.