Rent-Seeking

Rent-seeking is the pursuit of income by capturing a larger share of existing wealth, rather than by producing something new: lobbying for subsidies, protective tariffs or licences that keep rivals out. The behaviour and the people who practise it are described on the Rent Seeker page.

The "rent" here is economic rent, not payment for property. Rent-seeking is linked to regulatory capture and crony capitalism, and is studied in public choice theory.