Out of the given options, the most appropriate answer would be (a) College admission is demand-induced scarcity because the number of people that want to go to college rises as the population increases.
Explanation:
Scarcity is a basic economic problem that arises when unlimited human wants and needs exceed the limited resources available to satisfy them. Scarcity can be classified into three types based on the source of the problem: supply, demand, and structural.
Supply-induced scarcity occurs when the supply of a resource is limited, and it cannot meet the demand. Demand-induced scarcity arises when the demand for a resource exceeds its supply. Structural scarcity is a systemic problem that arises due to the organization of society, technology, or other factors.
In the case of college admission, it is a type of scarcity that occurs due to the high demand for college education. College admission is a demand-induced scarcity because more and more people want to go to college as the population increases, but the supply of seats available in colleges remains limited. However, it is not a structural scarcity because the problem does not arise due to the organization of society. It is not a supply-based scarcity, as the number of colleges is growing, not dropping.
Hence, option (a) is the correct answer.