Retired Moderator
Joined: 07 Jun 2014
Posts: 4813
Given Kudos: 0
WE:Business Development (Energy and Utilities)
Re: In the 19th century, Thomas Carlyle called economics
[#permalink]
08 Oct 2017, 10:40
Explanation
The correct pair must the idea of population growth outpacing natural resources — that is, having too many people to be supported by our natural resources. Famine and dearth are not synonyms (a famine is “a prolonged and widespread lack of food,” and a dearth is “a lack of anything”), but are the only words that match the idea of shortages.
Hence options dearth, famine are best fit!