This programmed scarcity is designed to mimic the scarcity of precious metals such as gold, adding to Bitcoins appeal as digital gold among investors.
There's no theory to support that the halving was added to mimick scarcity of precious metals.
Many precious metals are not even scarce at all; they can have supply shocks at anytime with uneven distribution, and many of them can be chemically produced with the same quality of the original.