Confusingly, rent has two different meanings for economists. The first is the commonplace definition: the income from hiring out land or other durable goods. The second, also known as economic rent, is a measure of market power: the difference between what a factor of production is paid and how much it would need to be paid to remain in its current use. A soccer star may be paid $50,000 a week to play for his team when he would be willing to turn out for only $10,000, so his economic rent is $40,000 a week. In perfect competition, there are no economic rents, as new firms enter a market and compete until prices fall and all rent is eliminated. Reducing rent does not change production decisions, so economic rent can be taxed without any adverse impact on the real economy, assuming that it really is rent.
- Part of Speech: noun
- Industry/Domain: Economy
- Category: Economics
- Company: The Economist
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- Isanyan
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