Rent Intensity and Economic Mediocrity

Abstract

Using the share society as a metaphor for the economic system, we construct a microfoundation for the stylized observations about rent-seeking and economic performance. We introduce the concept of rent intensity and show that at symmetric Cournot-Nash equilibrium it falls as value-adding productivity rises, rises with rent-seeking reward and with number of participants. Finally, average output falls with population growth where rent-seeking overwhelms increasing return to scale.