Economic problems arise because resources are scarce relative to wants. This means that people have unlimited wants or needs, but the resources to satisfy those wants are limited or scarce. Therefore, choices have to be made on how to allocate these limited resources among different needs and wants. This leads to the problem of scarcity, which is at the heart of all economic problems. The other options mentioned, such as man being insatiable, money being scarce, or engaging in too many economic activities, may contribute to specific economic issues but are not the underlying cause of economic problems.