rent seeking
Productivity, Inequality, and Economic Rents
Curbing excessive economic rents might bolster productivity and address rising inequality.
Productivity growth—a necessary (though not sufficient) condition for rising incomes in the long run—has...
New Study Finds Evidence That Rents Might Be Higher in the U.S. than in Europe
A new paper by Caroline Freund and Sarah Oliver from the Peterson Institute for International Economics explores the origins of the world’s billionaires, and...
ProMarket Interviews Bo Rothstein, Part II: On Strong Markets and Quality Government
In the second part of ProMarket's interview with Bo Rothstein, the Swedish political scientist discusses corruption, social trust and unions.
After decades in which the...
Who are the 30 Worst Brokers in America When Measured By Misconduct?
The ProMarket blog seeks to provide indexes that make markets work better. The data on brokers’ misconduct supplied by FINRA is very detailed, but...
ProMarket Interview: Robert J. Shiller on Competition, Deception and Rent-Seeking
Yale economist and Nobel Prize Laureate Robert J. Shiller explains why competition in itself does not always weed out deception and rent-seeking.
“Our free-market system...
“The President’s Executive Order is Pro‑Market and Anti‑Abusive Market Power”
Ten days after the White House issued an executive order and a brief that highlights growing concentration and decreasing competition in the US economy,...
Are We All Rent-Seeking Investors?
Has The Economist, the commentary magazine of the capitalistic global elite, embraced the corporate-bashing trend taken by many populist politicians in the U.S., U.K.,...
The White House Acknowledges: The U.S. Has a Concentration Problem; President Obama Launches New Pro-Competition Initiative
President Barack Obama issues an executive order that calls on federal government agencies to promote competition within uncompetitive markets.
President Barack Obama launched a broad new...
“It’s Difficult to Produce Good Policy in Thin Political Markets”
Harvard Business School’s Karthik Ramanna, author of Political Standards, outlines the potential harms of thin political markets and offers ways to mitigate capture. “It’s difficult...
“What We Have is Capture of the Regulators’ Minds, A Much More Sophisticated Form of Capture Than Putting Money in Their Pockets”
Barry C. Lynn, author and director of New America’s Open Markets program, explains how every major industry and marketplace in America came to be controlled...
