The economic and social bane of rent-seeking

Estimated losses from rent-seeking reached around 1% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), equivalent to RM17.9bil of GDP (nominal GDP in 2022: RM1.791 trillion). — Reuters

RENT-SEEKING has been around for a very long time. Breaking it is not going to be easy unless the government has a strong political will to work out effective regulations to stem this unhealthy and unproductive behaviour.

It is encouraging to note that the government will proceed with drafting new laws to curb the rent-seeking or “Ali Baba” culture, according to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.