State and explain Rent Theory of Profit
The Rent Theory
of Profit is associated with the name of American Economist, Francis. A Walker . According to him
profits are of the same gains as rent. The main points of Walker ’s Theory of Profit can be summed up as
under.
1. Profit is
rent in character. Just as superior grades of land earn more rent than the
inferior grades of land, similarly superior entrepreneurs due to their
exceptional ability or opportunity earn more profit than the inferior
entrepreneurs.
2. As in the
case of land there is no rent of marginal land, so in the business also is a
non-profit or marginal entrepreneur. The marginal entrepreneur is one whose
ultimate receipts from the sale of all commodities just cover his total cost.
3. Just as rent
is measured from non-rent land in the same way profits of the superior
businessman are calculated from the marginal entrepreneur.
4. The rent does
not enter into price of agriculture production of manufactured goods.
From all the
main points stated above it can be calculated that profits are the reward of
differential business ability.
Criticism:
The modern economists
have discarded the Walkers rent theory of profit on the following grounds.
1. It simply
provides a measure of profit. It does not throw light on the nature of profit
which is of more importance.
2. Marshall is of the opinion
that there is much difference between the rent of land and the entrepreneur’s
profit. The rent of land can either be positive or zero, but in case of
business the total receipts from the sale of product can fall short of total
costs, so the entrepreneurs may suffer losses and thus his profit may be in the
negative. In the opinion of the Marshall the price of the commodity in the
market is determined not by the cost of production of the marginal firm but by
the representative is that which has a fairly long lease of lift and has a fair
degree of success, which is managed with normal ability and which has access to
the normal economics of production.
3. It is also
pointed out that profit may not form a part of the cost of production of a
commodity in the sort period but in the long period if the business is to be
continued, it must enter in the price of profit.
4. Profit does not
arise simply because of superior or exceptional ability of the entrepreneur,
but they can also result due to change gains or monopolistic position of the
entrepreneur or they may be of the nature of the windfall income.
Comments
Post a Comment