Ricardian rent

E52110

Ricardian rent is an economic concept describing the extra income earned from land or other fixed resources due to their superior productivity compared to the least productive (marginal) resources in use.


Statements (45)

Predicate Object
instanceOf economic concept
theory of rent
appliesTo fixed resources
land
natural resources
arisesFrom heterogeneity of land quality
scarcity of superior land
arisesWhen demand for agricultural products requires cultivation of less fertile land
associatedWith classical theory of distribution
assumes competitive markets for agricultural products
diminishing returns to cultivation on land
fixed supply of land
basedOn differences in fertility of land
differences in location of land
differences in productivity of fixed resources
category theories of value and distribution
comparedTo marginal land
concerns distribution of income between landlords and other classes
coreIdea extra income arises from superior productivity of a resource relative to the marginal resource
definedAs the differential surplus earned by more productive land over the least productive land in use
dependsOn existence of marginal land that just covers its costs of cultivation
distinguishedFrom economic rent in modern microeconomics
monopoly rent
excludes monopoly rent not based on productivity differences
quasi-rent on capital
explains why more fertile land yields surplus over marginal land
field classical economics
economics
formalizedBy David Ricardo in "On the Principles of Political Economy and Taxation"
historicalContext developed in early 19th century
implies marginal land earns zero rent in competitive equilibrium
rent does not enter into price determination under Ricardo's assumptions
influenced Henry George's land value taxation ideas
later theories of economic rent
measuredAs difference between total product of a superior plot and total product of marginal plot at same cost
namedAfter David Ricardo
relatedConcept differential rent
economic surplus
ground rent
producer surplus
scarcity rent
relatesTo law of diminishing returns
theory of differential rent
usedIn analysis of land taxation
policy debates on land value tax

Referenced by (1)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

David Ricardo hasConceptNamedAfter Ricardian rent