Egypt as a rentier state
Wurzel (2000 and 2001) and others describe Egypt as a rentier state which
as such is largely dependent both on economic rents as well as on politi-
cally motivated external financial flows. In their definitions of rent Wurzel
(2000: 102ff ) and Schmidt (1991: 78 and 67) give various shades of meaning.
According to them a basic rent is the income gained out of a title possession,
for example a land rent. A rent differs from profit in that it is not reinvested
to promote production. Rents are revenues that are appropriated without
the implementation of production factors or direct payments. The difference
between the ideal competitive price and the actual market price can also be
described as a rent. In the Egyptian economy Wurzel (2000: 121ff ) identifies
the following economic characteristics which make him classify the country
as a rentier state:
• The country’s economy depends largely on three types of rents:
1) international economic rents
2) external political (geopolitical) rents
3) domestic economic rents.