The poverty gap index measures the intensity of poverty by calculating the average shortfall of the total population from the poverty line. It represents the minimum amount of resources required to bring all poor individuals exactly to the poverty line, expressed as a percentage of that line. This metric is essential for policymakers to understand the depth of poverty within a specific region or country.

The correct associations are: Unlimited supplies of labour by Arthur Lewis, Migration and unemployment theory by Harris-Todaro, Critical minimum effort by Leibenstein, and Big push theory by Rosenstein Rodan. These theories form the bedrock of development economics, explaining labor movement and capital requirements in developing agricultural economies.

A duopoly is a specific type of oligopoly market structure characterized by the presence of only two dominant firms or sellers providing a particular product or service. Because there are only two players, the actions of one firm significantly impact the other, often leading to strategic interdependence in pricing and output decisions.

Price theory is the core of microeconomics, as it examines how individual agents, such as consumers and firms, make decisions and how these decisions interact in markets to determine prices and quantities of goods and services.

The consumption schedule is a graphical or tabular representation showing how much households plan to spend on goods and services at different levels of disposable income. It is a fundamental tool for analyzing aggregate demand in macroeconomics.

The Income Consumption Curve (ICC) traces the optimal consumption bundles as income changes, holding prices constant. When both goods are normal goods (positive income effect), an increase in income leads to an increase in the consumption of both, causing the ICC to slope upward to the right.

Economics is widely considered a social science because it uses scientific methods to analyze the behavior of individuals, firms, and governments regarding the allocation of scarce resources. While it involves qualitative analysis and policy application (often described as an art), the core of economic theory relies on empirical data, mathematical modeling, and systematic observation, leading to its classification as a science.

A lump sum tax is a fixed amount that does not vary with changes in income or economic output. Because it does not change based on GDP, it is often considered neutral in terms of marginal incentives for economic activity.

Human resources refers to the collective workforce of an organization or a nation, encompassing the number of individuals and their various skills, education, and expertise. It is considered a vital asset for economic development, as the productivity of a country is heavily dependent on the quality and capacity of its people to innovate, manage, and perform labor-intensive tasks effectively within the economy.

In a capitalist economy, the price mechanism acts as the central coordinating force. Prices fluctuate based on supply and demand, providing signals to producers and consumers about resource scarcity and value. This decentralized system efficiently allocates resources without the need for central planning, as market participants respond to price incentives to maximize their own utility or profit.