Q.Write a short note on: Quasi-rent

Quasi-rent is the short-period surplus earned by man-made appliances (machines, buildings) whose supply is temporarily fixed; it disappears in the long run.

Explanation

Quasi-rent is a concept given by Alfred Marshall. True economic rent is earned by land because its supply is fixed by nature. Man-made factors like machines, instruments and buildings also have a fixed supply in the short period, so they too earn a surplus income similar to rent during that period. Marshall called this surplus quasi-rent (meaning "almost rent" or rent-like). It is only temporary because, unlike land, the supply of these man-made factors can be increased in the long run; as supply rises, the surplus is competed away and quasi-rent disappears. Thus quasi- …