Pareto efficiency is an economic concept that occurs when resources are allocated in a way that no individual can be made better off without making someone else worse off. In other words, it represents a situation where any change to improve one person's situation would harm another's. This state is often used to evaluate the efficiency of resource distribution in various contexts, including markets and public goods.
Achieving Pareto efficiency does not imply that the distribution of resources is fair or equitable; it simply means that resources are utilized in the most efficient way possible. Policymakers and economists often strive for Pareto improvements, where changes can make at least one person better off without harming others, moving society closer to this efficient state.