Economics is the study of how societies use scarce resources to produce and distribute goods and services. A nation's resources consist of natural resources like oil and timber, capital resources like manufactured goods, and labor resources like human skills and talent. Resources are allocated through a society's economic system to produce goods that meet people's needs for survival like food and clothing, as well as wants for non-essential items like entertainment goods. The economic system determines how resources, production, and distribution occur, and can be either a planned or free market economy. Understanding economics provides the foundation for comprehending business.