The Concept of “Rentier States” Revisited

Abstract

The term “rent” is well established in the economic literature since the time of the fathers of Political Economy. For Adam Smith “rent”, though a source of income, is nonetheless different from other sources, in that it is not the cause of prices but, rather, the effect of them. For Ricardo, the concept of rent plays a central role in his statement of the diminishing returns. Malthus had to use it to complete his population theory. And for Marshall, rent is “the income derived from the gift of nature”.