Rent-seeking activity is an unproductive interest pursuit of human society, or it is an unproductive activity to safeguard vested economic interests or redistribute vested interests.
In Buchanan and others' view, rent-seeking is to obtain higher income and excess profits at a lower cost of bribery, and rent refers to the part of the remuneration paid to the owner of the production factor that exceeds what can be obtained by any alternative use of the factor. Rent is income that exceeds social cost.
The rent-seeking activity in modern society is to use administrative and legal means to hinder the free flow and competition of production factors among different industries in order to safeguard vested interests.
The premise of rent-seeking activities is the intervention of government power in market trading activities, which will make the government's decision-making and operation at the mercy of interest groups and individuals.
Miao Lei divided rent-seeking into three categories.
Rent-seeking through government regulation
2 Rent-seeking through tariffs and import and export quotas
3 Rent-seeking in government contracts