Talk:Rent-seeking

suggestions

Here are some suggestions:

First, define "economic rent", don't just link to it. The definition doesn't have to be complete or thorough, but it has to be enough to distinguish economic rent from what people pay their landlords.

Second, define some other terms, like "social surplus".

Third, your example isn't entirely clear - are the grocery stores engaging in rent-seeking behavior, or only the liquor stores?

Fourth, make clear the difference between rent-seeking and lobbying to prevent being burdened by other parties economic rents, or other interactions with the government.

Anthony Argyriou 20:04, 29 November 2008 (UTC)

Is this an understood term of art in economics? If so, it would be useful to have some citations or links to expansion by economists, with which no one should confuse me.

The one citation is to a specific political situation, and, if it is desired to treat it from a political standpoint, I'd suggest digging into New York City, with a long history of rent controls and means to deal with it.

If this is being defined as not socially useful, it needs to be differentiated from various initiatives for "affordable" housing, which is done for a variety of social policies, certainly not limited to the poorest groups. For example, many jurisdictions had, in the past, often required civil servants, to live in the jurisdiction — but when they could not afford to live in the jurisdiction given its rents and their salaries, some measures are needed to sustain the policy if it is to be continued. Howard C. Berkowitz 00:22, 17 January 2009 (UTC)