A class of multiuser multicarrier communication systems is introduced to study the influence of resource allocation on the performance of multiuser communication systems operating over fading channels. This class of systems includes both systems that employ exclusive allocation schemes, where users are allotted time-bandwidth slots without interference from other users, and systems that employ shared allocation schemes, where users are allotted time-bandwidth slots that are also employed by other users. The optimal weighting factors used in the combining of the received signals from the slots of a single user for the conventional receiver is derived, and the performance of systems in the class is characterized. For each of a number of popular multiuser architectures, it is shown that there exists a system in the class with nearly identical performance. Based on these relations, it is concluded that a class of systems has been introduced that allows the study of the merits of different types of time-bandwidth allocation under a single framework.