Editing Rentier state (section)

=== Origin ===
The first use of the term "rentier states" was by economists in the early 20th, century who used the term to describe European states that extended loans to non-European governments.<ref>Ross 2001, p. 329</ref> [[Lenin]] viewed rentier states (''Rentnerstaat''), or usurer states, as a form of [[imperialism]]. He stated that a limited amount of rentier states, or creditor states, would accumulate capital through the export of capital to underdeveloped and politically dependent debtor states. According to Lenin rentier states were a "state of parasitic, decaying capitalism, and this circumstance cannot fail to influence all the socio-political conditions of the countries concerned".<ref>{{cite book|last=Lenin|title=Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism|year=1917 |url=https://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1916/imp-hsc/ch08.htm |chapter=VIII. PARASITISM AND DECAY OF CAPITALISM}}</ref>

The modern meaning of "rentier states" was first defined by [[Hossein Mahdavy]]<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ulrichsen |title=A dictionary of politics in the Middle East |date=2018 |isbn=9780191835278 |url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780191835278.001.0001/acref-9780191835278-e-244}}</ref> in his economic analysis of the [[Imperial State of Iran]].<ref name="Mahdavy 1970"/> He defined rentier states as countries that receive on a regular basis substantial amounts of external rents. External rents are in turn defined as “rentals paid by foreign individuals, concerns or governments to individual concerns or governments of a given country”.<ref name="Mahdavy 1970, p. 428"/> According to Mahdavy the payments for the passage of ships through the [[Suez canal]] and the payments to countries in the [[Middle East]] to allow the passage of [[Pipeline transport#Oil and natural gas|oil pipelines]] are forms of external rents. Also the revenues of the export of [[Petroleum|oil]] can be seen as external rents.<ref name="Mahdavy 1970, p. 428"/> Mahdavy denies the idea that oil royalties are a compensation for the extraction of resources. He shows that in the Middle East governments and companies are able to make larger profits through [[monopoly|monopolistic positions]] and [[price fixing]]. He also shows that within the Middle East there is no significant relation between oil export and production processes of domestic economies.<ref>Mahdavy 1970, p. 429</ref>

The use of the term "rentier states" became well known through the works of [[Hazem El Beblawi|Beblawi]] and [[Giacomo Luciani|Luciani]].<ref name="Beblawi 1987"/><ref name="Yamada 2020"/> They expanded on the more economic analysis of [[Hossein Mahdavy|Mahdavy]]<ref name="Mahdavy 1970"/> by looking at the potential social and political effects of rentierism and focused on how rents were distributed and generated. According to Beblawi an essential characteristic of rentier states is the fact that only a few are engaged in the generation of rent (wealth) and a majority involved in the distribution or utilization of it. Often it is the government that is the main recipient of the external rent.<ref>Beblawi 1987, p. 385</ref> It is precisely these characteristics that bring forth a specific ''rentier mentality''. Different from conventional economics is that this mentality breaks from the work-reward system. In a rentier state income or wealth is gained not from productivity or risk bearing, but rather from chance or situation.<ref>Beblawi 1987, p. 385-386</ref>