Re: Smith: ground rents and land rents

<ruetheday@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:1124855431.414887.268040@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> >As I can no longer post to Usenet directly, I will have to do it through
>>Google, which is a joke.
>
> Welcome to my world. As a traveling consultant, I cannot access my
> ISP's Usenet server while on the road and am forced to use Google's
> newsgroup service which appears to lose functionality and usability
> with each release. A simple quoting feature would be nice.
>
>>IMO opportunity cost is nothing but a red herring, and probably a bogus
>>concept altogether. Defining rent as a return in excess of opportunity
>>cost has the absurd effect of making a doctor's or other highly
>>specialized worker's earnings almost all rent, even in the absence of
>>licensure or other barriers to entry. This dishonest neoclassical
>>redefinition of rent can only be understood as part of the sustained
>>effort to prevent economic science from exposing the evil of landowner
>>privilege.
>
>>Economic rent is more accurately and informatively defined as an
>>economic benefit obtained by being privileged to deny others access to
>>what would otherwise be accessible. It differs morally and
>>economically from the proceeds of robbery or extortion only in being
>>socially accepted.
>
> Please note that I intentionally said opportunity costs _AND_ barriers
> to entry. Without the barriers to entry part, neoclassical economics'
> attempt to define rent as any return in excess of opportunity cost is
> bogus, I agree. However, taken together, they provide a reasonable
> definition of rent - a return in excess of opportunity costs due to
> barriers to entry.


The problem with the "opportunity costs due to barriers to entry"
is that the barriers MUST be political force or the definition
is no good. That I would need to study for 12 years and
prove my ability to practice medicine so as to become a
licensed physician may or may not be a barrier that is
erected by political force solely to keep people out of the field.
Certainly the lack of ability to hit home runs is a barrier to
entry into big league baseball. But no political force is
being used here. It seems to me that political force is
NECESSARY to the definition of the term "economic
rent".

--
"I know no safe depository of the ultimate powers
of society but the people themselves; and
if we think them not enlightened enough to
exercise their control with a wholesome
discretion, the remedy is not to take it from
them, but to inform their discretion by
education." - Thomas Jefferson
http://GreaterVoice.org


.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Smith: ground rents and land rents
    ... >IMO opportunity cost is nothing but a red herring, ... Defining rent as a return in excess of opportunity ... >licensure or other barriers to entry. ... Without the barriers to entry part, neoclassical economics' ...
    (sci.econ)
  • Re: Smith: ground rents and land rents
    ... Without the barriers to entry part, neoclassical economics' ... >> attempt to define rent as any return in excess of opportunity cost is ...
    (sci.econ)
  • Re: Smith: ground rents and land rents
    ... Without the barriers to entry part, neoclassical economics' ... >>> attempt to define rent as any return in excess of opportunity cost is ... > does not make the toll revenue any less economic rent. ...
    (sci.econ)
  • Re: Discussion: Should Apple enter the console video game business? Why or why not?
    ... barriers to entry (3rd party developers may be construed as one -- ... For other factors that are "barriers to entry" see; ... Although it lists "product loyalty" as a barrier to entry, and despite the proliferation of fanbois in the console market, the empirical research I've seen suggests in the console market, it's not as important as some may think and price is far more significant factor. ...
    (alt.games.video.xbox)
  • Re: Lisp is Sin
    ... they both suffer from chicken-and-egg problems of ... there's various market pressures both for and against Lisp. ... But ironically, barriers of entry can be a good thing in the market, ...
    (comp.lang.lisp)