Rent (8)

Rent (?), n.(Polit. Econ.) (a) That portion of the produce of the earth paid to the landlord for the use of the “original and indestructible powers of the soil;” the excess of the return from a given piece of cultivated land over that from land of equal area at the “margin of cultivation.” Called also economic, or Ricardian, rent. Economic rent is due partly to differences of productivity, but chiefly to advantages of location; it is equivalent to ordinary or commercial rent less interest on improvements, and nearly equivalent to ground rent. (b) Loosely, a return or profit from a differential advantage for production, as in case of income or earnings due to rare natural gifts creating a natural monopoly.