ABSTRACT
This chapter presents focuses on just two of the four types of rent, as doing so will serve to illustrate the type of analysis that could be developed more generally. It begins by arguing that rising returns to schooling, well appreciated as a main cause of rising inequality, are attributable to market failure in the form of barriers to free and open competition for higher education. The chapter argues that excessive executive compensation is likewise rooted in noncompetitive practices and that a market wage might be inequality reducing. Because of space limitations, author can't render the arguments in any comprehensive way, and instead the chapter refers the reader elsewhere for a related and more sustained treatment (Weeden and Grusky 2010). It suggests here that the cognitive-impediments story is less plausible than an account that recognizes that workers may simply not be in a position to secure a degree even though they appreciate its benefits.
