Key aspects of resource allocation include:

1. Allocation Mechanisms: Resources can be allocated through various mechanisms, such as markets, central planning, or mixed approaches. Market allocation relies on prices and competition, while central planning involves government decisions.
2. Efficiency: Efficient resource allocation ensures that resources are used in a way that maximizes output and minimizes waste. This often involves producing goods and services that are most valued by society at the lowest possible cost.
3. Equity: This aspect considers the fairness of resource distribution. Different economic systems prioritize equity differently, with some focusing on equal distribution of resources and others on maximizing individual opportunities.
4. Opportunity Cost: This is the value of the next best alternative foregone when a resource is used for a particular purpose. Effective resource allocation considers opportunity costs to ensure that resources are directed toward their most valuable uses.
5. Scarcity: Resources are limited, and their allocation must address the fundamental economic problem of scarcity, ensuring that the finite resources are used to meet as many needs and wants as possible.

In practice, resource allocation involves decisions at various levels, from individual consumers and businesses making choices about how to spend their money or invest their time, to governments and large organizations planning how to distribute public resources and infrastructure.