The fight against rents should garner consensus

Whether economists are on the left or liberal, they normally loathe unjustified rents. This may be on the basis of equity considerations ( to reduc e income and wealth inequality, for example), but also efficiency considerations (a rentier economy lacks dynam ism , underinvests, has excessively high prices, makes poor use of its savings, etc.). Unfortunately, there are many unjustified rents today: Monopoly rents, due to the proliferation of companies with dominant positions; “Monetary” rents, due to the rise in financial and real estate asset prices caused by persistently expansionary monetary policies; Rents related to inheritance; At the global level, rents related to the production of commodities. Efficiency considerations alone justify combating these rents.